“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.” –Jesus Christ

This may seem like someone talking in circles but it makes sense when you get into it. So what is this peace and what does it mean? It begins with grace. So how do we describe this grace, apparently coming from nowhere?

Think of grace like a slow-moving, but imperceptible train coming down the street where you live. Or how about grace as filling the room where you’re working now. You can’t see it with the naked eye, but put on your special God glasses and grace appears as a blue hue filling the whole room. Grace is like electricity; we only see it when we flip a switch or turn on the stove. However, it’s always available.

We’ve often heard that grace is a free gift from God.  The question is “How do we get it?”

Grace is only seen, is only felt by those who believe. If we don’t believe, then what we think is grace is a cheap, fake feeling that comes and goes. If things are going right, going good for us, we say we’re lucky or we’ve caught a lucky break. Or some might call it good fortune or serendipity. Then the next day, or the next moment, luck is not on our side or simply slips away. We see our lives as a series of random events often making no sense.

True grace is ever flowing and always available but not outside of Christ. In his gospel, the apostle John describes Jesus as the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. As a first-hand, in person witness, John says, “We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14. Later, he adds, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:17.

Do you want grace and a peace that never leaves you? Then look to the cross and the man/savior God who took on flesh and suffered a pitiful death so we can live with him forever. We are doomed to fail by going on our own.