It should go without saying that everything changes when God is in charge. Life begins to reflect the results of His Kingly reign.  In this post we continue our discussion on what life looks like when God rules.

In Romans 14:17 the apostle Paul outlines what it looks like when the people of God live under the Reign of God.

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ESV

In a previous post I discussed righteousness.  Righteousness basically refers to being rightly related to God so we rightly relate to everyone and everything around us.  The King is righteous, and righteousness is reflected in His Reign.

Peace

In order to properly understand peace, one needs to look at a prophetic statement from the Old Testament regarding the Lord Jesus Christ.

For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counsellor,Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!  Isaiah 9:6 – 7 NLT

The word for peace in both verses is the Hebrew word shalom.  Shalom is the great well-being word of the Bible.  It is far more than just the absence of conflict.  It is the overall sense that everything is right in one’s world; that everything is flowing in the right direction.  This is because when God is in charge He brings about order instead of chaos, harmony instead of discord.

First with God

This peace is first of all reflected in our relationship with God.  The apostle informs us that because we have been justified by God’s working in Christ, we now have peace with God (Romans 5:1).  The forgiveness of our sins has removed all agitating sense of being disconnected from God.  Instead the Holy Spirit provides us with the assurance that we are now in harmony with the Lord (1st John 4:13).

Peace Among Men

When God is actively reigning He also brings peace among men.  In Christ there are no distinctions involving race, social status, or gender.  Christ makes everybody into one (Galatians 3:28).  In Christ there is no racism, feminism, male chauvinism, or (God help us!) denominationalism.  There is one Kingdom, one Church, one Body, and one Lord who reigns over all.  This is why the answer to world peace cannot be found in the United Nations, Democracy, or Education, as good as those things may be.  God alone can bring order and harmony among men.  The answer to world peace is the Kingdom of God, and that is what we will experience when the Kingdom of God comes in its fullness.

In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s house
will be the highest of all—
the most important place on earth.
It will be raised above the other hills,
and people from all over the world will stream there to worship.
People from many nations will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of Jacob’s God.
There he will teach us his ways,
and we will walk in his paths.”
For the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion;
his word will go out from Jerusalem.
The Lord will mediate between nations
and will settle international disputes.
They will hammer their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will no longer fight against nation,
nor train for war anymore.   Isaiah 2:2 – 4 NLT

Harmony and well-being abound when God is in charge.  Chaos and conflict come to an end wherever the Reign of God extends.  By that definition, are you truly living in the Reign?

M