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Peace

【Peace】There is a painting titled “Peace”. It depicts waves crashing against the jagged rocks. It portrays the violence of a crushing storm. It seems anything but peaceful. But down in a small corner of the painting, tucked away in the rocks, is a little bird sitting on her nest totally oblivious to the raging storm all about. That is peace.

【Peace】Picture a massive hurricane raging over the ocean. On the surface of the sea the violent winds whip the water into giant waves and create a scene of havoc and chaos. Yet, a mere twenty-five feet below the surface, the waters are clear and calm. The fish there go on living their lives totally unaware of the thunderous tumult just above them.

When there is “depth,” there is peace. So it is in the Christian life.

【Peace】A hurricane is a storm with cyclonic winds that exceed 74 m.p.h. Rain, thunder, and lightning usually accompany the winds. Hurricanes can be very fierce storm with relentless pounding winds that continue hour after hour. But a very fascinating thing about a hurricane is its “eye”-a place of perfect calm in its center. Though the winds blow and rage all around it, there are none in the eye.

So with us in the storms of life. With the Lord as our center, there is calm and peace, even in the darkest of life’s storms.

【Peace】Eric Barker was a missionary from great Britain who had spent over fifty years in Portugal preaching the gospel, often under adverse conditions. During World War II, the situation became so critical that he took the advice to send his wife and eight children to England for safety. His sister and her three children were also evacuated on the same ship. Barker remained behind to conclude some mission matters. The Sunday after Barker’s loved ones had left, he stood before the congregation and said, “I’ve then proceeded with the service as usual. Later, the full meaning of his words became known to his people. He had been handed a wire just before the meeting, informing him that a submarine had torpedoed the ship, and everyone on board had drowned. Barker knew that all on board were believers, and the knowledge that his family was enjoying the bliss of heaven enabled him to live above his circumstances in spite of his overwhelming grief.

【Peace】U Thant was once Secretary General of the United Nations. While speaking in 1965 before sixty-seven distinguished scholars and statesmen from nineteen countries of the world, who were convened to talk about the requirements for world peace, he asked these questions:

What element is lacking so that with all our skill and all our knowledge we still find ourselves in the dark valley of discord and enmity? What is it that inhibits us from going forward together to enjoy the fruits of human endeavor and to reap the harvest of human experience? Why is it that, for all our professed ideals, our hopes, and our skills, peace on earth is till a distant objective seen only dimly through the storms and turmoil of our present difficulties?