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Peace Saints,
I pray the Lord is BLESSING you, right now!
If you have received an email or group text message from me over the last three years, chances are you are familiar with that greeting.
The world yearns for peace in Gaza, as Israel & Hamas try to maintain a ceasefire and bring an end to a conflict that has cost too many lives since October 7th, 2023.
As my generation mourns the untimely death of the singer-songwriter D’Angelo, I have read the words “RIP” (rest in peace) in texts, in forums, and in the comments under his music videos.
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As my family scrambled to make a brunch & playground date with old friends last Saturday morning, two women knocked on our front door and asked me “Do you think there will ever be Peace on Earth?”
That is entirely too big a question to contemplate before my morning dose of caffeine, and I really did not have time - but a question like that deserves an answer, so I answered them honestly.
“Yes.”
They were a little surprised and one of them asked me “When, or how do you see that happening?” Again, I was late and undercaffeinated, still, I shared.
“When Jesus Christ returns.”
You could have knocked them over with a feather! They looked at each other, smiled, and then turned to me, still smiling and said “We agree.”
I let them know I was glad they agreed, I prayed with them that they would touch someone else with a message of peace and that God would keep them safe in their comings and goings. And then, in the name of peace, I got myself together so my wife wouldn’t have to be “unpeaceful” with me.
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. I believe that if Jesus is the Prince of Peace, then His Kingdom - the Kingdom of God - cannot be separated from Peace, in our minds, or in reality. This means in order for me to be in God’s Kingdom, I necessarily have to be in Peace.
When we ask Christ to remember us when He gets to His Kingdom, we have to remember what His Kingdom truly is. It is not enough to pray that those who pass from this life “Rest in Peace,” we have to live Peace - and help others live Peace - if we are to truly be followers of Jesus.
John 10:10 reminds us that while the Enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy, Jesus came so that we may have abundant life. The opposite of stealing, killing and destroying is sharing, healing, rebuilding - restoring. This is what living Peace is.
Peace is a prophetic vision of Paradise authored by God and Peace is a gift Jesus gives us to assure and encourage us, even as we navigate the darkest moments of this life (John 14:27). Peace is where we are going and what God gives us to get there.
I pray we can learn to trust God enough to live Peace. I pray we restore this world by sharing, healing, and rebuilding one another. I pray we say “Peace” to bless the living and not just those who have died. I pray we become visions of Peace, as God created us to be, and help bring about God’s Kingdom, here on earth.
The Peace of the Lord Be With You.
John-Thomas (JT) Crockett
Minister for Youth Young Adults & Families, St John’s Ivyland UMC
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