THE PEACE THAT GOD GIVES
A true Christian would naturally be devoid of peace as long as she is in a state of sin. As long as she has strayed away from God’s grace, her spirit remains restless. Although she tries to find happiness in irrelevant things, there remains a nagging pull on her mind which keeps reminding her that she would be happier and more fulfilled in the bosom of our Lord. The peace that God gives is so overwhelming and all the wealth of this world would never satisfy our soul’s desire for her God. Eventually, the grace of Jesus would triumph and she would find her way back to the flock; and finally, after the heavy drought, her soul would delight in the love of her savior. After the prolonged famine, her soul would eventually be nourished by the body of her God.
For those souls in purgatory, their sorrow isn’t as a result of the purifying flames, neither is it as a result of the pain. Rather, their greatest sorrow and anguish is the absence of their Lord; the absence of their lover through whom they were once saved. And until those souls are united with God in heaven, they shall remain restless.
Whenever we fail to worship God in truth and in Spirit; whenever we fail to love him as we ought, it is our very souls that we punish. We were created directly from God’s breath, we are inarguably a part of Him and so when we sin, we cut ourselves away from him and without Jesus, we are nothing. Without Jesus, we are worthless like chaff, and we are lost. Jesus talks about this when he said “I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me. Those who do not remain in me are thrown out like a branch and dry up; such branches are gathered up and thrown into the fire, where they are burned” John 15: 5-6.
He further went on to say that “My Father’s glory is shown by your bearing much fruit; and in this way you become my disciples. I love you just as the Father loves me; remain in my love” John 15: 8-9. The grace that comes with being in a state of grace is so great and incomprehensible. The peace that holiness brings cannot be over emphasized. A holy soul is automatically blessed with the holy wisdom of God and he begins to view the world differently. A holy soul does nothing but glorifies his creator in all things, hence, God looks down on him lovingly and bestows even more grace upon him; so that he becomes an eagle soaring high above the worries of this world.
May God strengthen us with his holy grace that we may always abide in God’s love until we finally unite with him in heaven forever Amen.
