The Peace of Christ: The Story of the Three Paintings

May 16, 2004

The Rev. Dr. Anthony J. Godlefski, Pastor

Montgomery United Methodist Church

 

Psalm 95

Acts 16:9-15

John 14: 23-29

 

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, good morning! Our sermon this morning is entitled, “The Peace of Christ: The Story of the Three Paintings.”

 

As we begin our message this morning, friends, I’d just like to share an observation with you. What we’re going to do this morning is explore a passage from the Bible, a sentence that Jesus spoke. And it seems to me that Bible study is like traveling down a road. When you open up the Bible, it’s like going on a road. As you study a verse in the Bible, it’s like taking a side road. And it’s always interesting and rewarding. The Holy Spirit is with you as you drive along that road. You can discover a gold mine of insights, or you can meet a person of God that you’ve never met before, or you can get to know them better. Or, that side road can lead you on a whole new direction in your life. Ultimately, along the road, you travel with Jesus Christ. Now that’s a pretty good deal, don’t you think?

 

So, what am I asking you to do? You guessed it! I’m asking you to study your Bible. I have a vision in my heart that I pray would come true. We’re having such a good time in that Bible Study on Thursday, and I know the Tuesday one is going great, and Sunday morning is going great. I’m praying that our church would just blossom like a tree with Bible studies. Now, I don’t know how we’re going to do it, and I don’t know the form of it just yet, but we’ve got a great curriculum now, and I’m hoping that it’s just going to blossom. There would be a Bible Study that’s just right for you, for your time frame, for your interests. I invite you to pray with me about this, and envision this, and talk to me about it, and talk to Lay Leader Matt Brucker about it. Let’s see how we can make it happen. Amen? Amen!

 

Well, you like to travel side roads? You like to go down those scenic paths, what my father would call the short cut? They aren’t really short cuts, but they can be really rewarding. And here’s one of them: in the gospel according to John, in the 14th chapter (which is rich with Biblical insight), Jesus is getting ready to leave this earthly plain in the form His disciples knew. And He’s giving them some last minute instructions and promises. One of them is this: My peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.

 

Let’s explore that together.  What does that mean, “not as the world gives do I give to you”? What is this gift that Jesus is giving to us?

 

There is a story I’d like to share with you that perhaps will illustrate this. It seems there was a man who wanted to have a painting in his home, a picture of God’s peace. So he found the finest painter he could find, and he said, “I want to hire you to paint a picture of God’s peace for me.”

 

The man said, “I’ll gladly accept your challenge.” He went home, took out a canvas, and started to paint a beautiful scene of a sparkling lake in a field of grass, a huge tree shading part of the grass. In the distance there were peaceful mountains and a blue sky – an absolutely gorgeous picture. The painter brought the painting to the man and said, “Here it is, sir, the peace of God.”

 

The man looked at the picture and said, “It’s very beautiful, but you know, somehow it doesn’t symbolize the complete picture of the peace of God to me. It’s part of the peace of God, but not the whole thing. Try again.”

 

So the painter went home and tried again. He painted a beautiful picture of a mother holding a baby. He looked at the peacefulness and the gentleness of that picture and said, “Surely this is the peace of God.” When he was done, he brought the painting to the man and said, “Here you are, sir, the painting you asked for.”

 

And the man said, “It’s very beautiful, but it’s only part of the peace of God. Try again.”

 

Well, the painter was completely frustrated. He went home, sat down, and he was depressed for days. He could not understand why he could not satisfy this gentleman about a picture of the peace of God. He was depressed. He could hardly paint at all. Finally, he rose up and took his paints and brushes in hand, put up a canvas, and he started to paint furiously. The more he painted and saw the picture that was emerging, the more he thought he might be on to something. So he continued to paint all night. In the morning, he took the picture to the man. He said, “Here you are, sir. Is this the peace of God?”

 

The man looked at the painting and said, “Ah, yes, it is. Thank you.”

 

Would you like to know what he painted?

 

In the picture, the artist had painted a raging storm, with wind and clouds and rain pounding a furious ocean. The furious ocean was raging against the cliffs of the shore. Along a sheer rock cliff, there was one great indentation, and in the protection of that indentation was a little bird in a nest, protected from the storm. And herein is a picture of the peace of God.

 

Friend, the peace of God is rock solid. You see, the peace that the world gives us is dependent on things. The peace that the world gives is dependent on circumstances, on everything going right, on nothing going wrong, on everything being pretty much perfect. That’s the peace of the world. Have you ever used the phrase, “That just ruined my day!”? We all have. Of course we have. But that’s the peace that the world gives. It’s dependent on circumstances.

 

The peace that comes from Christ doesn’t come from outside; it comes from within us. Like that bird safe from the storm, that’s what the peace of Christ is about. So, the peace of Christ is something you can have no matter your circumstances. A person who is imprisoned can have the peace of Christ. A person in the hospital can have the peace of Christ. A person with a critical illness can have the peace of Christ as well as the rest of us.

 

The peace of Christ is not dependent on what happens out there. The peace of Christ is something you can call upon in your darkest moments, in your toughest moments, and simply know that God is with you. Christ is with you and blessing you. The peace of Christ is rock solid.

 

Secondly, God doesn’t let the storm last forever. Remember the storm we had this past week? If you’re out in that driving rain, it’s hard to believe it will ever stop. But it does. We are passing through the storm. God doesn’t let the storm last forever. He protects you in the shadow of the rock.

 

Third, there’s one more thought that came to me as I prepared this message. I’m not sure who it’s for, but let me share it. If you see yourself as that little bird in the rock, protected from the storm, remember one more thing, please. God gives you protection, but God also gives you wings. That means that when the storm is over, don’t forget that you can fly. Don’t forget that there’s more to your life. Don’t forget that you can rise up and be bold and live again, because God has a plan for you. God gives you wings.

 

And, God gave you wings to protect others. You may be the sheltering wings of someone who is less mature in the faith than you. God may need you to be the sheltering wings of a person who is so broken that he or she knows no other church but you, knows of no other faith than what he or she sees in you, knows no other Bible than what he or she reads in you. Does God need you to be the sheltering wings for someone? Perhaps a child, perhaps an adult, perhaps someone who is faltering and needs to see God’s protection reflected in you.

 

Dear friend, let the peace of Christ dwell in you, the peace that’s not dependent on circumstances, the peace that comes from within. And you will be standing in the protection of a mighty rock.

 

God loves you. I do, too. God bless you everyday. Amen.