The Lord of Peace

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.”

(2 Thessalonians 3:16 ESV)

Peace is something that we all crave. It’s something that we all desire. It’s something for which we all long.

However, that being said, it is also something that seems elusive. It’s something that seems distant. And it’s something that seems impossible to obtain.

As we live life in this world, it seems anything but peaceful. We hear about conflict between nations of the world. There is conflict on the political front. There is conflict in our community. There is conflict in our churches. And there is conflict in our families.

As we seek out this peace, our tendency is to think that it’s something that is ours to obtain. We believe that, if we include certain people in our life, we can have peace. We believe that, if we exclude others from our life, we can have peace. We believe that, if we place ourselves in the right environment, we can have peace. Or we believe that, if we work the right job, we will have peace.

We, then, do all that we can to grab hold of it. We do all that we can to obtain it. We do all that we can to place ourselves in a position where we will have this peace. We do so even if it means violating God’s law.

We fail to realize that the Lord alone is the source of our peace. We fail to realize that it’s he who can bestow this peace. And we fail to realize that, for this reason, we can have peace regardless of how our outward circumstances may seem.

In the above passage, Paul refers to Jesus as the Lord of peace. This tells us that he is the God of peace. He is the author of peace. We, therefore, can look to him for this gift of peace. He, in fact, is the only source of peace.

And this is what Paul wishes for the believers at Thessalonica. He asks that the Lord will give to them peace at all times and in every way. He asks that the Lord will give them a perpetual peace that will remain with them in every circumstance in which they might find themselves.

This is something we can have because the peace that Jesus gives to us is not subjective, but objective. It’s not simply a feeling of peace that can pass away when our circumstances become difficult. It is a real, outward reality. It’s not dependent upon our circumstances nor our emotions. It’s dependent only upon Jesus and what he’s done for us.

Although we were God’s enemies, we are no more. Although we were dead in our trespasses, we are no more. Although we were once far off, we are no more. By his sacrifice, he has made peace for us. He has obtained peace for us. And he has granted to us this peace, which is received through faith in him.