There are very few religions out there that aren't supposed to be about peace. Some call for a greater level of peace in this world than others. But pretty much all religions look forward to some kind of peace for the individual when their time in this world is done. Again, they may have differing levels of peace-seeking in this world (varying from very firm stances against any kind of violence all the way to seeing it as okay to destroy your enemies), but pretty much any religion out there paints the picture of hope after this life.
With peace being such a major tenet of so many belief systems, it's good to ask the simple question. Why is peace important? If peace is consistently being held up as the primary end of most faiths, there has to be a reason for that, right? What is there about peace that makes it such a significant part of the belief system of so many? And, what is actually meant by peace?
Let's tackle the last question first. What is meant by the word peace? There are a number of different ways to look at peace. Absence of conflict, harmony among people, a satisfaction with one's inner self. I've seen each of these identified as a major part of peace. You can also probably throw in things like the absence of fear, serenity among people (and even among people and nature), and rational, realistic thinking of oneself. All of these also carry some aspect of peace in them.
For the most part, I'm going to proceed with this kind of understanding. Peace is when creation is in harmony with the design with which God created it. Deep, yes. God created things perfectly, and if everything were proceeding according to God's design, everything would know perfect peace. (And yes, I'm unapologetic about taking a Christian view of peace here, but if you were expecting otherwise, the name of my blog should give that away!)
In a way, that kind of a definition brings out the reason why peace is important. It's important because it's a restoration to the way that God initially created all things. We long and yearn for that which is out of our reach, and that's part of the reason why peace is such a significant tenet of our faith. That's why the promise of God in Jesus, where He re-appears to make all things new, is so significant for us. That's when we are brought fully into the peace of God.
Peace is essentially living according to God's will and design. That's why true peace is so infrequent in this world, since all of us have sin as part of our nature. And that's why peace is such a foundational part of our faith life.
With peace being such a major tenet of so many belief systems, it's good to ask the simple question. Why is peace important? If peace is consistently being held up as the primary end of most faiths, there has to be a reason for that, right? What is there about peace that makes it such a significant part of the belief system of so many? And, what is actually meant by peace?
Let's tackle the last question first. What is meant by the word peace? There are a number of different ways to look at peace. Absence of conflict, harmony among people, a satisfaction with one's inner self. I've seen each of these identified as a major part of peace. You can also probably throw in things like the absence of fear, serenity among people (and even among people and nature), and rational, realistic thinking of oneself. All of these also carry some aspect of peace in them.
For the most part, I'm going to proceed with this kind of understanding. Peace is when creation is in harmony with the design with which God created it. Deep, yes. God created things perfectly, and if everything were proceeding according to God's design, everything would know perfect peace. (And yes, I'm unapologetic about taking a Christian view of peace here, but if you were expecting otherwise, the name of my blog should give that away!)
In a way, that kind of a definition brings out the reason why peace is important. It's important because it's a restoration to the way that God initially created all things. We long and yearn for that which is out of our reach, and that's part of the reason why peace is such a significant tenet of our faith. That's why the promise of God in Jesus, where He re-appears to make all things new, is so significant for us. That's when we are brought fully into the peace of God.
Peace is essentially living according to God's will and design. That's why true peace is so infrequent in this world, since all of us have sin as part of our nature. And that's why peace is such a foundational part of our faith life.
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