My morning devotion today came from John 14, in a part of that chapter, Jesus says “I do not give to you as the world gives.”
That brings up the question, “how DOES the world give?” What is Jesus differentiating Himself from? Perhaps it is giving out of self-interest, giving simply to receive something back. Perhaps it is giving out of grudging compulsion, not really wanting to give but feeling pushed into it. Perhaps it is giving for the adulation of others, so that people can see how good we are in giving a gift. When it comes down to it, we could probably sit and talk about many other ways in which Jesus could have been saying, “I do not give to you as the world gives,” about.
But negative statements leave big gaping holes to be filled in. We can know all sort of things about how Jesus doesn’t give, but those don’t necessarily tell us how He does give. In order to experience how Jesus gives, we have to actually receive His gift. There is no substitute. I can tell you that I’m not going to give you a car, and that I’m not going to give you a diamond, and that I’m not going to give you a puppy – but you don’t know what I’m going to give you until you hold the gift in your hands.
In this Scripture, Jesus tell us the gift that He is giving us – a strange gift if you think about it, but a gift that has more value than we initially realize. This gift is peace. Sometimes I am struck that this is the last gift given to us in blessing every worship service, “…and give you peace.” Peace, true peace, is something that we may crave more than we realize. It is what makes us look longingly at the beach scene on the travel ad, it is what we’re perhaps working so hard for in our careers, it is what we wish for when we put our heads to the pillow but our minds keep racing.
Jesus promises us that peace, and He promises that He gives it to us not as the world gives. The world makes us work for peace – through our jobs or through our virtue or through our perception in the eyes of others. Jesus doesn’t give that way. He just gives peace. He gives us peace in HIs forgiveness, in His righteousness, in the eternal life He offers us now. So let us accept His gift, this peace, and be at peace knowing that He does not give as the world does.