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Christ’s Legacy of Peace, November 18
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world
giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it
be afraid.
John 14:27
.
Shortly before His crucifixion Christ bequeathed to His disciples
a legacy of peace.... This peace is not the peace that comes through
conformity with the world. It is an internal rather than an external peace.
Without will be wars and fightings, through the opposition of avowed
enemies, and the coldness and suspicion of those who claim to be friends.
The peace of Christ is not to banish division, but it is to remain amid strife
and division.
Though he bore the title of Prince of Peace, Christ said of Himself,
“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send
peace, but a sword.”
Matthew 10:34
.... The Prince of Peace, He was yet
the cause of division.
Families must be divided in order that all who call upon the name
of the Lord may be saved. All who refuse His infinite love will find
Christianity a sword, a disturber of their peace....
It is impossible for anyone to become a true follower of Jesus Christ
without distinguishing himself from the worldly mass of unbelievers.
If the world would accept of Jesus, then there would be no sword of
dissension; for all would be disciples of Christ and in fellowship one with
another, and their unity would be unbroken. But this is not the case. Here
and there an individual member of a family is true to the convictions of his
conscience, and is compelled to stand alone.... The line of demarcation
is made distinct. One stands upon the Word of God, the others upon the
traditions and sayings of men....
The peace that Christ gave to His disciples, and for which we pray, is
the peace that is born of truth, a peace that is not to be quenched because
of division. Without may be wars and fightings, jealousies, envies, hatred,
strife; but the peace of Christ is not that which the world giveth or taketh
away.
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