Jesus said to his disciples:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you,
‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe.
I will no longer speak much with you,
for the ruler of the world is coming.
He has no power over me,
but the world must know that I love the Father
and that I do just as the Father has commanded me.”
So what is the difference between the world’s peace, and God’s peace? I suggest that the world’s peace is like a shelter from the storm, You are struggling, and troubled but find a short respite. Gods peace is perfect, and infinitely complete. Gods peace comes from the fact that you are with the lord, in his full beatific vision. And to be in this pressence is to be utterly happy and joyful, for He is the fulfillment of every desire; utterly loved because he is the perfection and completion of all love; and utterly at peace, because there is no pain, suffering or fear. That is the peace that god wishes for us all. Paul said that eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and the mind has not conceived of what god has planned for those that love him.
So how do you get to heaven? You must surrender and align your will with God’s will for your life. You must seek to trust, and have faith in God that He will provide all that you will ever need. And you must place this trust over your desire for freedom, and independence. You must seek to give everything you have to others, and must not worry about what little you have being lost. You must seek to serve others, and not concern yourself with being served. It is only then that you will understand the economy of God’s kingdom, and prepare your soul for being part of it.
Having doubts, taking from others, and subjecting others to your will only separates you from God and His people, and ultimately only causes pain and anxiety. Selfless trust is truly the only way to have lasting and perfect happiness. That is how it will be in heaven, and that is what we must do here on earth to prepare our hearts and minds for the future that God has planned for us in heaven. I truly cannot wait to see what God has planned for me, if I am deemed worthy to join Him in heaven. But I know I must begin now and continue for the rest of my life, so that I will be ready when He decides to call me home.
