I Heard it Through the Grapevine

Well you might have heard the news today (maybe through the grapevine) the Nobel Peace prize was awarded.  There was a lot of reaction to the news.  And many people commented on the idea of peace.  I heard references to:

• Peace from war
• Peace among the nations
• The Coke commercial "I'd like to teach the world to sing..."
• Peace among groups

Its funny when the topic of peace comes up people conjure up many different images in thier mind.  What does it mean when someone gets the Nobel Peace prize? It really hard to say for sure, but one thing is clear there is really only one real peace and only one real "Prince of Peace".   That peace is a restored relationship with God.   Last time we started to look at a letter that Paul wrote to the faithful brethern in Christ at Colossi.  This letter is known as the book of Colossians.

Continuing on in that letter Paul is thankful for the news about the Colossians faith that Paul has heard about.  Actually it is believed that Paul was in prison at the time he wrote this letter.



Col 1:3We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— 5the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel 6that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. 7You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

You can see that Paul was not the one who brought the Gospel to the Colossians, but another servant and faithful minister of Christ, Epaphras.  What is being reported is the Colossians acceptance of the Gospel, their faith in Jesus Christ and their love for all the saints. 

This isn't just that the saints in Colossi are great folks, Paul recognizes that it is God working in their lives. 

Let me be clear and not beat around the bush.  We will never see peace in this world no matter how many Nobel Peace Prizes are handed out.   There is war, groups are fighting each other, the Coke song will not bring peace, neither will John Lennon or great rhetoric.

There can only be peace if you give your heart to Jesus.  As you can see from these verses the Colossians had hope from the word of truth, the gospel message which bears fruit with those who hear it and accept it.  God is just, we are sinners.  But he loved us so much he sent Jesus his Son to die on the cross for us.  Jesus paid the price for our sins.  We can believe in Christ and accept His sacrifice on the cross and have real peace with God.

It is my sincere prayer that as you read this you would think hard on the prospects of peace in this current world and realize it isn't happening.  Stop searching the Savior is here.