Have you ever ended up having a really good conversation with a stranger?
I have.
A few weeks ago, I talked to a man on the streets of Vancouver who stopped to watch the dramas that we were performing. “What’s going on here?” He asked. I told him we were a Christian drama group that does dramas that share about life and people’s struggles, and he said, “Yeah, I thought the guy in the white shirt might be a prophet or something.”
I asked him what his spiritual background was, and he told me he was raised in a non-Christian home, but had some great experiences at a Christian camp. He wandered away from following Christianity and is now practicing certain aspects of Buddhism, which he said give him a lot of peace.
In hearing him talk, I started thinking a lot about the peace that he was seeking. It seems like peace is something that people are after these days–maybe it’s because we live in a world with lots of distractions, technology, and busyness. Maybe it’s just because we’re finally starting to realize there is something missing inside.
In Isaiah 53:5, it says, “But he [Jesus] was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” This is a common theme in our dramas, and we share with people about how because Jesus died on the cross, we don’t have to worry about paying for our sins, those terrible things we do. All we have to do is ask Jesus’ forgiveness, and we can receive the peace that he offers us!
Jesus also tells us in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
What it comes down to is that we need to believe in him, ask him to forgive us, and then honour him with our lives. In return for giving up all of our sin and shame, we get a ton of peace in return. Sounds like a good deal to me!
Want to know more about this peace you can have? Click here!
