“Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in Christ” (1 Peter 5:14 HCSB).
“Peace” is commonly characterized as a state of contentment and/or well-being. This might include the absence of external hostilities (ranging from armed conflicts to personal disagreements) to internal struggles with things like anxiety or insecurity. Therefore, a person who is free from internal or external discord is someone who is likely to be “at peace.”
The problem is that peace can often be difficult to attain. In fact, the quest for peace can be so elusive that some abandon it entirely. For instance, there are those who seek to anesthetize their lack of peace through alcohol abuse, drug use (prescription or illicit), or materialism. Others may experiment with self-help strategies that seem promising but fail to address the underlying issues.
The root cause of those underlying issues (whatever they may be) is ultimately traceable to the conflict that exists between human beings and their Creator. Thus, the road to genuine peace begins with faith in Christ (Romans 5:1).
We should also recognize that “peace” and “happiness” are two different things. You see, happiness often comes from getting what we want. Unfortunately, acquisitions like financial wealth or possessions may quickly disappear, thus destroying the peace of those who invest in such things. The problem is that “things” cannot ensure lasting peace, for the source of genuine peace is not something but Someone– God Himself. Since peace is a characteristic quality of the Spirit of God (Galatians 5:22), we should look to Him for lasting peace in an ever-changing world.
This peace is available to us through Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross, for as Jesus told His disciples, “I am leaving you with a gift– peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn’t fragile like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27 TLB).
With that, we will close our look at the Biblical epistle of 1 Peter with an insight that is just as valid today as it was in the New Testament era…
“Peter’s object in this Letter was to assure the believers of the Dispersion that the Christian faith which they held was the true faith-or, as he calls it, the true grace of God. Perhaps in the heat of persecution, they might be tempted to wonder if they had been right to embrace Christianity. Peter declares that they were right. They had found God’s truth and should stand fast in it.” (1)
(1) William Macdonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary “C. Exhortations and Salutations (5:1-14)” Edited by Arthur Farstad, Thomas Nelson Publishers.