I think there are words and tenets of our faith that have been said so many times they are seen more as truisms and not the powerful word of God. The word truism means ‘a statement that is obviously true and says nothing new or interesting’. An example would be Grace. How many of us have heard or even has said “God’s grace is sufficient’? It is true, but we have heard it said so many times that it can become easy to dismiss because on a surface level we know that already. There is danger in turning the promises and word of God into truisms; instead of using them to encourage our faith and draw us closer to God they become more of a catchphrase.
Another word that comes to mind is Peace. In John 14 Jesus is talking to the disciples about the Holy Spirit who will come and comfort them and remind them of everything that he had said. This isn’t the calm between storms kind of peace, it’s calm in the midst of the storm. This is the peace of God. Knowing that regardless of what we face, regardless of what happens, it is well with us. The word Peace comes from the Hebrew word Shalom which translates to “completeness, wholeness, tranquility, safety.” This peace makes us complete and whole in the fact that in Christ we lack nothing, we are complete in Him. His peace allows us to rest because we are complete in Him, whole in Him- we don’t have anything that is missing or anything that needs to be replaced. The world offers nothing that is remotely close to this kind of peace. You may have quiet for a moment, where there is no turmoil, we all know that that is not lasting. But the peace of Christ, that surpasses all understanding, that is a lasting peace. You and I can and be in a constant state of rest because in Christ we are complete and whole.
by Kalesha Peters
