Tuesday, April 10, 2012

peace

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."


I'm learning a lot about this lately.

Peace doesn't mean everything makes sense. It doesn't mean that life is easy. In a way, that's "peace" that the world offers -- believe me, it doesn't offer it very often. But peace in Jesus Christ...it's the peace that comes from genuine obedience. It's peace that says "I can be better today."

Lately that means I'm working on being genuine...partly because I'm finding that it doesn't really benefit anyone if I pretend to be perfect. Sometimes, I "give" because I expect something in return. I get angry and upset. I suppress generous thoughts. Charity comes naturally from a pure heart, so I am working on having that pure heart. That's only possible through grace, but through the Atonement, I can be charitable, not just act charitable.

I want to be free of judgment, free of fear, free of distractions, because when my heart is untroubled by those things, I do have peace. I'm grateful that Heavenly Father teaches me what an un-peaceful heart feels like, and cultivates a dissatisfaction with that in me. Then I can do something about it, like ask what I'm doing wrong, introspect, and attempt to put what I learn into action.

It's not an easy task, but it's a task I'm grateful for. Jesus Christ has left His peace with me, so that I can be like Him. So my heart will not be troubled, nor afraid.