The Peace That is Already There

"And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you." - Luke 10:6

This instruction was given to the disciples the first time that Jesus sent them out into the world. They were given the task to spread the Spirit of Christ, or, more specifically, the Peace of Christ. Why, then, would it have been possible for the disciples to encounter this peace in a household which had never encountered the message of the gospel? How could a "man of peace" already have the peace of Christ before the disciples brought it to him?

Luke's answer: God is already at work even among those who know nothing about Jesus. Some Christians would deny the very notion that anything good exists within those who live apart from the gospel message. Luke disagrees. When we show up on the scene to spread the message of Jesus, we often find that they already know it. God has been at work long before we ever even thought about going. Christians don't have a monopoly on God.