Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 January 1917 — Legacy of Peace [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Legacy of Peace

By REV. W. W. KETCHUM

director of the Practical Work-Courte, Moody Bible Institute. Chicago

TEXT—Peace I leave with you, my peace I give upto you.—John 14:27. To know that Jesus left a legacy of peace for us is the first step in its possesSome years ago in Chicago a bricklayer, earning five dollars a day at his

trade, received word that he was tieir to a vast estate left by his two granduncles in Australia. The knowledge of this fact was the first thing necessary in securing possession of the fortune. In ig - norance of it, he might have labored on for the rest of his life with his trowel; So it is with the -legacy of peace

Christ has left; the first thing we need to know, if we would possess it, is that he has left it for us. Ignorant of this fact, we would fall to take possession'of our Inheritance. How true it is. that it is not what one has, but what one knows he has that makes him rich. And, we can well add, and what he takes possession of. . It is evident from Christ’s words announcing this legacy that it is a twofold peace. He speaks of leaving peace and giving his peace, These cannot be one and the same thing, for Christ is never guilty of redundancy. The peace Christ left us must be the peace which he made for us hy the blood of his cross; that which Paul calls, “Peace with God.” This we know was effected for us by Christ upon the cross, and became ours when we accepted Ttfm as our Savior. It is an inalienable possession, a blessed, unalterable fact, that w«Lhaye peace with God. if Christ is ours. But what now of this other peace which Christ gives? He expressly calls.it “my peace.” By this, he must mean the peace which he possessed and which filled his own life; not an outward calm, but an inward quietness. Away down in the sea, those who dredge its depths tell us there Is what is called the cushion. "No matter how wildly the wind blows on the surface, nor how tempestuous the waves, down there at the cushion of the sea is an absolute calm. This, it seems to me, represents the peace of Christ. It was the inner quietude of his heart, though his life was swept by storm. This peace, which was Christ’s, he bequeathes to us. What else can it be, but the peace spoken of” by the Apostle as “the peace of God which passeth all understanding.” (Phil. 4:7.) It must be that, for who can understand the quiet poise of a suffering child of God? It is beyond understanding, yet many a child of God with yielded lite has said with one of old, “though he slay me, yet will I trust him.” But how can this peace be possessed? First, by possessing peace with God. There is no use trying to have the second peace, if one does not have the first. Peace with God makes possible the peace of God. The first peace is the portjoiupf every one who truly has nuuto Chrfsu Ids Savior, It isu-bla" whether he feels it or not; and to know ifjte possesses it, he should look not to WjT'feelings, but to the fact that Christ has made peace by the blood of his cross and that he by faith has accepted Christ and the peace which he made. The second peace, namely, the peace of. Gad may be the portion of every believer. It is possessed not by trying, but by trusting. It comes when one yields fully his life to Christ abd relies upon him. Do that and though the storms beat about the head, and the heavens seem ready to fall, the mind will be kept by the peace of God through Christ Jesus. The prophet Isaias expresses this-truth (26:3) when he says: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” That is it; mind stayed on the Lord Jehovah experiences the keeping (Tower of, him who is everlasting strength. v There conies to my heart one sweet strain, A glad and a joyous rdf rain, T sffiTJt' agatn fffict agaTH?"" Sweet peace the gift of God’s love. Peace, peace, sweet peace, Wonderful gift from above. Oh wonderful, wonderful peac®, Sweet peace, the gift of God's love. ’