Advent at Cornerstone
Week of Dec. 8 - PEACE
Pastor Aaron Syvertsen, Senior Associate Pastor
You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace,
for it is trusting in you.
Isaiah 26:3
Many people approach the topic of inner peace like they do the weather.
We know the weather is outside of our control, we can’t fully predict it, nor know how long it will last before things change. It’s entirely determined by outside forces – direction and strength of the wind, precipitation, cold fronts and a whole bunch of other big words that we hear but don’t really understand. We just live our lives and hope for “good weather” without really knowing how to define good weather, it’s just one of those things that is more felt than explained.
So it is for most of us with the topic of peace – we think it’s outside of our control, dependent on outside circumstances. We think we know what makes for inner peace – financial stability, little to no tension in our relationships, healthy bodies, and children who are smart, safe, and successful (or well on their way). It can be hard to define, but it’s easy to desire, especially as one gets older.
A major study conducted by Merrill Lynch revealed that the vast majority of people aged 45 and older said that “achieving personal peace is far more important than accumulating wealth.” God made us with an innate desire for peace, so as we get more enlightened and technologically advanced, can we “control the weather?” Can we achieve peace?
The season of Advent powerfully reminds us that peace is received, not achieved. You cannot buy it, earn it, or live such a holy life apart from God that he rewards you with peace. It is a tragedy how many try to experience peace in themselves with meager attempts to use their homes, careers, bank accounts, religious activity, or max bench press to achieve peace where there is no peace.
Jesus Christ taking on flesh affirms that God doesn’t expect you to climb the mountain of life and find our way to the top, because He came down from the mountain to find His way to you. He came to restore the peace that was lost due to our sin and rebellion and poured out His grace upon us by dying on the cross to reconcile us to the Father, forgive our sin, and remove the stain of guilt and shame when we place our faith in Him. The peace of God can only come from the God of peace.
Now, this restoration in Christ does not prevent us from experiencing the rollercoaster of circumstances in this world, but it prevents us from relying upon them for inner peace. Ann Voskamp writes, “There is unwavering peace today when an uncertain tomorrow is trusted to an unchanging God.” As new creations, we can enjoy our homes, work hard in our careers, steward our bodies and love our families well not in order to achieve the “good weather” of our souls, but because we’ve already received all that we need in Christ, the One who came to seek and save the lost.
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