Everyday Christianity: First Things (3)
So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” John 20.21
Key words
One of the many excellent ways of studying a passage of Scripture is to focus on key words. Key words are those that carry the weight of a passage, words that turn on the lights of meaning and application. Key words can be many or few, but deciding on them and then pursuing their meaning is crucial to gain understanding of a text and to know how we are to respond.
Take the passage that begins this column. What would you say are the key words?
Here’s my assessment: peace, as, sent, send, you (twice).
Whoa, you say: That’s almost the whole verse! Well, true, but every word that proceeds from the mouth of God is important, and sometimes there are more key words in a small space than other times. So let’s do a brief overview:
- peace: The condition of safety, security, satisfaction, and deep contentment that comes as a gift of God. Peace is the proper condition of all who inhabit and pursue the Kingdom of God (Matt. 6.33; Rom. 14.17, 18)
- you (twice): God intends that His disciples should know the peace He promises, and this is contingent on their/our receiving the Word He speaks.
- as: To obtain our peace we must look to Jesus. As He was, as He did, we must be and do also.
- send: Jesus came to earth with a mission. The outlines and defining characteristics of that mission are now assigned to His disciples (‘you”) to continue.
OK, that’s enough to get us started. Now let’s look more closely as this verse, to understand why it constitutes one of the “first things” of our everyday walk with and work for the Lord.
You
The focus is on the disciples of Jesus. We who believe in Him are His disciples. All things that Jesus taught the eleven and Paul—all His Word—He teaches us through them and their spiritual descendants. We are included in the “you” of this passage. We should be greatly encouraged that our God and King desires that we should know His peace. At His ascension He left His peace with us, not a flimsy peace like the world offers but the eternal, unshakeable, over-all-things-prevailing peace of the living God (Jn. 14.27; 16.33). In the midst of every trial, amid all troubles and sorrow, when persecution or disappointment strikes, we who believe in Jesus may be at peace. God intends it. Jesus promised it. Nothing but our failure to believe the Word of God can prevent us from knowing the peace of His Kingdom.
As
But knowing this peace entails embracing the conditions Jesus sets for possessing it. And here He makes it plain that to know His peace we (“you”) must follow Him in embracing a mission in life that derives, not from this world or our material needs, but from the eternal will of God.
Jesus came to earth, sent from the Father, to proclaim and embody the coming Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. This was the mission appointed to Him by the Father which He fully and faithfully fulfilled. Now Jesus sends us (“you”) as He was sent, that is, on that same mission. He appoints us ambassadors of His Kingdom to bring it near to the people to whom He sends us each day. Before the day begins, we must embrace again our mission and prepare to go into our world to live and proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God.
Sent
All the disciples of Jesus (“you”) are thus missionaries within the context and calling of our daily lives. Whatever we do is the means whereby we fulfill our calling to bring the Kingdom of God into our world—the people and places which constitute our particular calling (more on that in a future installment).
Peace
The peace of Jesus comes to those disciples who receive His Word, embrace their mission, and in all they do seek to further His Name, glory, and rule. We may know the peace of Jesus to the extent that we live as He lived, sent by the Father and Jesus to announce by our lives and words that a new Kingdom is coming, filled with the glorious permanence of beauty, goodness, and truth, and that Jesus Christ is the Way, Truth, and Life into that heavenly realm. As we pursue our mission, we realize the payoff of it: Peace, unspeakable, beyond-understanding peace (Phil. 4.6, 7).
Every day, we who have been called by God resume our mission, following the example of Jesus. Let us pray for faithfulness, courage, and abounding grace as we engage our mission to bring the Good News of Christ and His Kingdom to our world.
For reflection or discussion
1. Augustine wrote, “all men are to be loved equally. But since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special regard to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstance, are brought into closer connection with you” (On Christian Doctrine). In your case, who would those people be?
2. At present, how are you working to fulfill your appointed mission with these folks?
3. What can you do to be more mindful of your mission throughout the day?
Next Steps—Preparation: Try writing a personal mission statement. Begin this way, “My mission in life is…” When you have finished writing, spend time in prayer, renewing your mission and giving thanks to the Lord.
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
For more guidance in true worship, order a copy of our book The Highest Thing, either in book form or as a free PDF download.
This week: Our Read Moore podcast begins readings from the book, Patrick: A Devotional History. In our Crosfigell teaching letter, we are studying examples of the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. And in the daily Scriptorium column we are working our way through the Gospel of Matthew. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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