Fruit of the Spirit (3): Peace

“The fruit of the Spirit is……..PEACE (Galatians 5:22). It is Francis of Assisi who takes us to the heart of the matter when he says “Make me an instrument of thy peace.” This reminds us that we are not simply to be at peace but we are also to be peacemakers. To be at peace, when there is no peace sounds paradoxical, so perhaps we should discover what the Bible means by peace
It is not merely the absence of activity. That is why Christians can be at peace while living in the most hectic and difficult circumstances. Sadhu Sundar Singh was arrested for preaching and was condemned to be left naked in the market place covered with leeches. The authorities thought it would drive him insane during the night. Speaking afterwards he said he was conscious of “an intense inward peace.”
Edward FitzGerald, the translator of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, thought he would find peace if he exchanged his present life for his imaginary ideal life. He left his wife, went into the country and occupied himself with congenial work. But peace continued to elude him.
The idea of peace effects every part of life. – you can see this if you take the Hebrew word for PEACE – and see its different meanings: In 1 Kings 22:17 it is “absolute victory” It is “physical health” in Psalm 38:3. It is a “friend” in Jeremiah 20:10. The “time when the Messiah reigns” in Isaiah 9:6. It is “prosperity” in Job 15:21. “Welfare” in Genesis 43:27. And “a time of security and calm” Judges 6:23 and Isaiah 32:17.
In the NT the writers inject these broad Hebrew meanings whenever they use the word “Peace.”