Peace Maker ...

Monday, Dez 23, 2019. What is it that can bring peace to the world? The discussion of peace is a complex discussion. Look at the freedom map of the world, and you learn that too many countries have their particular understanding of peace and freedom: follow strict rules of a prescribed religion or ideology, and you can live in 'our' peace. Strong suppression is happening in so many places. We could burst into tears about the fate of our planet!

Again and again we need to ask: what type of freedom and peace are we talking about? Does freedom and peace mean that everyone can do what they want? What are the laws we need to insist on? What type of social contract do we follow? What is the framework for our thoughts, our discussions, our decisions? What should be allowed, what should be forbidden?

Jesus Prince of Peace …

Where and how to find peace? Are we talking about personal peace, about the peace of my own soul and life? I am in peace if I know who I am, if I am resting in myself, if I can stand challenges and discussions. I am in peace if I am in peace with others and if I live in peace with God. The apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Romans:

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Rom 5, 1)

Here, he puts the peace with God into the center of his discussion. And it is important, since it is the starting point for peace with ourselves and for peace with others. The bible claims that peace with God is the most important thing for our life. It gives strength and power to us to find peace with ourselves and to start to make peace with other people (as far as it is up to us).

How can we find peace with God if we do not start to talk to him? How can we find this peace if we do not get to know him, approach him, trust him, live with him? Faith is a combination of my mental belief, my decisions and my actions. When actions are chosen again and again, habits develop, and life is changed.

Talk to God …

Peace with God needs trust. Peace with God needs my prayer, it needs me telling the Lord that I trust him. It needs me to tell him that I want him, that I search him and find him. This prayer and trust is not difficult, the smallest child can do it. It is not difficult, it does not need long study or any type of theological education. Everyone can trust God. Every human from any nation. He wants all of us.

Jesus is the peacemaker, since he has paid the ultimate price which needed to be paid for all our evil actions. All our ignorance, our egoistic attitudes, our self-centered life, … all of it was brought to the cross by Jesus. He came with trust in his heavenly father. He lived in this trust, till the end.

The week before Christmas there are often journals, articles or reports on various layers of our public opinion, which try to speak against the biblical stories. They claim that the historical critical research has proven things to be wrong. If you dig deeper into these claims, usually they fall into pieces quite quickly. The Christmas story has already been active and popular in the two decades after the death of Jesus AD 30, with some New Testament letters written from AD 55 and many eye witnesses around. Even if some schools think that some of the letters are written later, the historical evidence is breathtaking - you might dig into this yourself!

The New Testament invitation is to discover the peacemaker Jesus. It is an invitation to discover life, in a fantastic, vibrant, pure, truthful and heartwarming way. It is an invitation to find the peace which Jesus can bring into my and your life. Indeed, if you find it, you might add your personal Hallelujah. (Roland Potthast)

This is part of the trilogy project “Faith of a Scientist”.