The phone call was full of static and the voice was almost inaudible. Of the few phrases that could be understood, one pierced my soul and rattled me, “We’re on lockdown! The whole school is on lockdown!” Flashes of past Colorado school trauma ran through my mind. It is hard to pinpoint the emotions felt: anxious, nervous, angry, scared . . . there were probably more.

The police arrested a person who was sitting in the school parking lot. In his truck there was at least one high-powered rifle as well as an assortment of other things. Was he going to go into the school? Was he just getting ready to go hunting? With all Colorado has faced why sit in a school parking lot with that kind of paraphernalia? What was his agenda?

Colossians 3:15 exhorts the reader to “let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts”. When emotions scream louder than the verse on the page it is difficult to let peace reign in one’s heart; unless the peace of Christ is more than just an emotion. The Greek word for peace (εἰρήνη) occurs 48 times. It literally means peace of mind. It carries with it the sense of  wholeness, i.e. when all essential parts are joined together.(www.biblos.com) I forget that because I am in union with Christ, I am not only positionally at peace with God but I can also experience his peace in my life because I am poised to walk in the kind of life in which he enables me to walk.Part of the origin of the Greek word peace means “to join” . . . because we are joined with God through Jesus Christ we can experience His peace in unique ways and under any kind of duress.

God’s peace does have emotional impact, but it goes further than that. God’s peace is present no matter the circumstance because my whole person is in union with Him, including my emotions. I can experience anxiety, anger, fear, etc. but these emotions do not have to rule my life. I am able to turn to God in that moment of anxiety due to trauma or impending tragedy and receive from Him the peace that passes understanding (Philippians 4:7.) It is the only way for me to be whole is to be in union with God through Jesus Christ.

My wife and my children are safe. They are back outside enjoying the spring day. And I am grateful. Grateful for their protection, grateful for God’s peace, and I am grateful for all the teachers who work so hard to protect our families.