At the end of the Second World War, people gathered together to celebrate victories in Europe and the Pacific. My father had taken me with him to see the victory celebrations outside Flinders Street Station in Melbourne. Perched on my father’s shoulders I can still remember the scene so well. There was a great crowd of people dancing on the roadway, so happy that the long years of conflict had come to an end; peace could be enjoyed again!

PEACE essentially means freedom from conflict. But the Hebrew language gives us the word SHALOM which has a much deeper meaning. It is a word still used in Israel today as a greeting. It is saying to a person, “be full of wellbeing” or “health and prosperity be upon you”. This precious Hebrew word appears frequently in the Old Testament and has the idea of making something whole, restoring it to completeness. It involves the whole person.

The words of Jesus now have much more significance, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you… ” John 14:27 NIV.
So now I understand, what the Bible means when it tells me Jesus has made peace through his sacrifice. The punishment he took on my behalf enables me to experience peace. This is a new relationship where God can now restore all those blessings we forfeited because of sin. Peace BRIDGES the gap of separation.

The depth of meaning behind GOD’S PEACE is like seeing the top of an iceberg, there is so much more! When we are at peace with God through Jesus we are back in harmony, we are now joined together with the Father and his Son in perfect unity. The PEACE that Jesus gives is like an open door to all of God’s goodness!

Ref. Isaiah 53:5, Romans 5:1-2. NIV.