When we were enemies …
The Son of his love … made peace through the blood of his cross.
Romans 5:10; Colossians 1:13.20.
Tomorrow marks the armistice that ended the First World War, that caused widespread destruction and the death of ten million citizens. Millions of people throughout the world were relieved that peace had come at last. However, there was no real peace. The reparations demanded of the defeated German nation were an initial cause of the next war, and universal unemployment and a scale of inflation hitherto unknown brought with it dissatisfaction, poverty and hatred – hardly conditions conducive to peace!
True peace will never be achieved by political agreement. It depends on the attitude of heart in human beings. The apostle Paul frequently wrote of the enmity between mankind and God and the lack of peace as its consequence, (cf. Romans 3:17). However, he never neglected to emphasize the possibility of enjoying peace through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the text quoted above clearly states. It was sin that destroyed our peace with God, but since Christ’s death “put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:27), He and His work became the means of establishing “peace with God” (Romans 5:1). This latter verse, however, stresses the need for faith, which brings about our justification before God. Unless we believe in Him, we shall never attain the peace of heart and mind that the awareness of forgiveness gives. If we come to Him through repentance and confession; He will grant us His peace (John 14:27; 16:33). Then we shall experience the true “peace of God which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).
Image: By El Greco – El Greco, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4751248