You’ve seen the bumper sticker: NO JESUS, NO PEACE; KNOW JESUS, KNOW PEACE. Nice idea. Catchy phrase. Easy to remember. But wrong.
Now, before you become indignant, hear me out. At first the concept seems true. We want it to be true. We want life to be that simple, but it rarely is.
If knowing Jesus resulted in peace of mind, a quiet spirit, a still heart, a soul as placid as a glassy lake, Christians wouldn’t experience turmoil. But we do.
People who profess Christ as their savior struggle with excuses and abuses. Divorce rates among believers are as high as those of non-believers. We eat too much, drink when we shouldn’t, abuse drugs (including prescription medications), and exploit others and ourselves in a vain effort to be happy.
So, either we don’t know God or knowing peace isn’t as easy as the bumper sticker would have us believe. Since no one who attends church wants to admit to not knowing a divine, infinite, perfect, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, loving, merciful God we’re stuck with agreeing that peace may involve a pursuit. But what if finding peace is simple?
The apostle Paul wrote that he learned the secret; he discovered he could be content regardless of his circumstances. Good days or bad, hungry or not, honored or beaten, admired or left for dead. What happened around him—and more importantly what happened to him—didn’t change what mattered most: God loved Paul.
King David understood this truth when he wrote the 23rd Psalm. I can hear it with a good Jewish lilt. “The Lord, he’s my shepherd. Me? I want nothing.” Oh, he and Paul both had dreams and ambitions. But neither of these men needed anything; they had everything that mattered. So do we.
Jesus is all I need. God provides more than enough for all my needs. My wants? That’s different. But if I learn the difference, I’ll be wiser than many. And even if I’m not, I’ll be content.
Want to learn more? Visit http://praisechapelkingman.podblaze.com to hear a sermon by Senior Pastor Howard Pennington or any of our pastors or guest speakers.
