Peace Part II: Peace with the divine

Edge Kingsland

Humans have long wrestled with the question: am I at peace with God (or the gods)? Ancient Israel certainly struggled with this existential wondering, and there are several ways of making sense of relatedness to God in the scriptural story. Jesus himself continues the tradition of navigating this question - and in his story, rather than revealing a God who is disappointed or angry with everyone, a story that makes us anxious when things go badly because we wonder what we've done to upset the divine, Jesus reveals a God whose stance toward us is one of belovedness. A God of whom we do not have to be anxious or afraid. Jesus does not come to bring peace with God, as much he comes to reveal it.