Fruit of the Spirit: PEACE
It’s a Saturday morning. Summer vacation has just begun. A mom of three children is already feeling the exhaustion that only an early Saturday morning in the summer can bring. The older two siblings are fighting over who gets the last of the chocolatey cereal. Milk gets spilled. Spoons quickly turn into swords. The mom ends up taking the cereal away and telling the kids it’s not worth fighting over. Instead, the two sisters clean up their mess as bread gets toasted for everyone. After breakfast, the family members each go off to do their separate Saturday pastimes. And the mom is left with her lukewarm coffee.
The youngest says, “Mom, I’m bored. What can I do?”
The mom thinks for a second, then kneels down to her son’s eye level and asks, “Could you go on an adventure for me?” The young boy’s eyebrows raise in excitement. “Can you go find me some peace?” The mom smiles as her son’s expression switches from excitement to confusion.
“Peace? Where am I supposed to find you any peace?” The boy questions this adventure his mom wants to send him on. The mom stands up, pats her youngest on the shoulder and tells him he’ll know it when he sees it. With those cryptic words fresh in his head, the boy sets off on his adventure for peace.
Looking out the window, the first family member he sees is his dad mowing the lawn. I’ll ask dad where I can find some peace. The boy quickly ties his shoes and rushes out onto the lawn waving his hand. The dad notices his son and kills the engine.
“Dad! I need to find some peace for mom!” Says the little boy grinning.
“Oh, I see.” The dad says as he looks up toward the kitchen window. Getting a thumbs up from his wife, the dad continues. “Well I think mowing the lawn can be peaceful. Would you like to help me with that? Maybe you can find some peace here.”
After grabbing some earmuffs from the shed, the boy puts his hands on the push mower’s handle bar. The dad shows the boy how to pull the chord to get the motor spinning again. He points the lawn mower in the right direction and guides his son’s steering. Even with the hearing protection, the mower is loud. The young boy’s whole arms are vibrating from the motor and bumpy lawn. Mosquitoes and gnats are buzzing around, darting left and right. The morning sun is heating up, making the back of his neck sweaty.
Surely, this is not the kind of peace mom is looking for. The boy thought. He stops pushing and the dad shuts off the machine.
“All done?” The dad takes the earmuffs from the boy.
“Yeah, I think I’ll keep searching for peace somewhere else.” Turning from the yard, the boy goes back inside, kicks his shoes off, and walks into the living room where his two older sisters are playing chess. They both greet their brother with a “Hey” and continue on with their next move.
“I’m on an adventure.” The younger brother peers at the black and white figures on the board and then at his sisters. “I’m on the search for mom’s peace.”
“Mom’s piece of what?” One sister asks while moving the rook forward.
“Not a piece of anything.” The brother scratches grass clippings off of his leg. “Like peace and quiet kind of peace. Dad said cutting the grass is peaceful to him, but I don’t think that is what mom is looking for.”
“You’re welcome to watch us play chess.” The other sister replied. “I find the ancient game of chess peaceful. Especially when I am winning.”
“Okay.” The boy sits cross legged between his two sisters at the coffee table.
“So the rook can only be moved horizontally and vertically, and it can move up to 8 squares.” She says as she points to the castle-shaped piece. “And this one here,” she touches the top of the horse’s head, “is called the knight. Knights can move in an L shape like this.” The sister makes her move across the chess board. “The bishop moves diagonally for as many squares as you want it to move.” To the boy, this one was shaped like a funny hat.
“How am I supposed to remember all of these moves?” The younger brother puts his chin in the palm of his hand.
“You get used to all the rules the more you practice them.” One sister says while moving her pawn. “Some chess matches can last for hours.” The other sister responds by sliding her pawn too.
“Hours?” The little boy stands up from his spot on the carpet. “Thanks for trying to help, but I don’t know how you find this game peaceful.” The sisters shrug and wish him well on his adventure.
Dad finds cutting the grass peaceful. My sisters find chess peaceful. But mom’s peace must be somewhere else. The young boy thinks as he hops up the stairs to his room. Glancing around the bedroom, he spies some books scattered on his shelf. Mom likes to read! Maybe I can find some peace in one of these books. He skims the titles of literature, nothing really standing out as “peaceful” until he sees his Adventure Bible he got from church several years ago. Flipping to the back of the Bible, he finds a familiar verse under “peace” and thumbs to it. Reading out loud he cites John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
“Well that sounds like a good place to start.” The mom walks in from the hallway and sits on her son’s bed. “How is your adventure for finding peace going?”
“I think the kind of peace that Jesus is talking about might also be what you are looking for, mom.” Taking a seat next to his mom, the boy carefully hands the open Bible to her outstretched hands. “You said, ‘I’d know it when I see it’ and I think it’s clear to me now. I remember this Bible story. Jesus’ disciples are frantically asking Him questions because Jesus is about to leave them. Jesus tries to comfort them by saying the Holy Spirit will bring them peace and that they don’t have to be worried.” Pointing to the beginning of the chapter, the boy says, “Can you read the story to me?”
“Of course.” The mom and her son read about biblical peace for the next 10 minutes. They discuss why the boy didn’t find peace mowing the lawn or playing chess. They talk about why the mom wasn’t feeling peaceful during breakfast that morning. And they pray together asking the Holy Spirit to give them peace when they feel overwhelmed or troubled.
Reflections
Are you on an adventure looking for peace? Sometimes we try to do peaceful things like activities or distractions, but true, long-lasting peace is found in Jesus. What areas of your life are lacking peace? When do you feel the most peaceful? What is one meaningful and practical step you can take towards accepting the biblical peace in John 14:27?
