First Saturday go to confession and Mass
John 14, verse 27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
It seems we have come to the end of
our almost two year journey exploring all the bible verses that contain the
words fear or afraid. Throughout this journey we have discovered that there are
many types of fear some good (Holy)
and some not so good (servile). Yet, along the way hopefully we have discovered
the ultimate will of God is that we have peace, faith, hope and love. Acknowledging
this to finish out this journey we will be focusing our research on the New
Testament verses that expound on the fruit of a life lived in grace trusting in
our Holy God.
It is important to note that Christ gave His peace in this verse to His apostles just before the betrayal of
Judas. Fear has no place in the hearts of believers. Likewise all our fear and
distress as people awaiting His return must
give way to the peace that is Christ’s
gift. We now must face the conflict
with the Prince of this world by keeping that peace in a troubled world. Christ by His death demonstrated God’s
commandment of total love.
Without the peace of Christ one is beset by a certain negativity lurking deep within a person’s heart. It is the toxic attitude of those who rejoice at seeing an injustice done to others. The gift of the peace of Christ is that “it rejoices in the right”. In other words, we rejoice at the good of others when we see their dignity and value their abilities and good works. This is impossible for those who must always be comparing and competing, even with their spouse, so that they secretly rejoice in their failures. When a loving person can do good for others, or sees that others are happy, they themselves live happily and in this way give glory to God, for “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7). Our Lord especially appreciates those who find joy in the happiness of others. If we fail to learn how to rejoice in the well-being of others, and focus primarily on our own needs, we condemn ourselves to a joyless existence, for, as Jesus said, “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). The family must always be a place where, when something good happens to one of its members, they know that others will be there to celebrate it with them.
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