A Very Present Peace
John 20:19b The doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
An endearing picture emerges from this scene that is worth considering: these disciples are still together. For almost three years, they had walked with Christ, step for step, dreaming of the day when He would take His throne and place them at His right hand. Now they don’t know where to turn. How do they move past Him? I find it moving to picture them gathered in private once again, in the darkness, having lost their place in the world, just trying to figure out what life means now. And then Jesus slips in! Past the bolted door, through the shadows of doubt, whispering that word that, whether spoken on a stormy sea or in a hidden room, always made the difference for them: “Peace.”
Will it make the difference for you today?
Extra Refreshment
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27