Peace

Merry Christmas!

At this ‘Most Wonderful Time of the Year’, we hear the familiar phrase; “Peace on Earth and Good Will toward men” which is taken from Luke 2:14. But what is peace? I think because we oftentimes define peace by its contrasts, we come away without a real profitable understanding of what peace really is.

Yes, peace IS the absence of contention, and freedom pain and heartache but it’s so much more than an absence as it is a presence; as real and tangible as anything. In the same way the acrostic rightfully reveals GRACE as “God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense” I like to think of PEACE as “Perpetual Ease at Christ Expense”. Not ease as in “easy” but ease in the comforting way that lets you know that your situation is as good as solved, being in the best possible Hands. The angel’s proclamation of ‘Peace on Earth’ was not just telling the earth to “Quiet down, the baby’s sleeping”. It was the introduction of the means to peace in the Person of Christ, who would afford peace in the midst of an age old war.

War? Yes, War! I know my thinking tends toward the uncanny, but I rejoicefully associate Christmas as the beginning of the end of the war, and I see Christ as The Ultimate Peace Offering. But why would God offer up Himself as a peace offering to the losers? ...so that the losers could know love, be reconciled and live in peace - Now that’s redemptive Love.

CONTRADICTION ALERT: In Matthew 10:34 Jesus says “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

Does this verse contradict Luke 2? Not at all, look carefully. Jesus doesn’t bring peace TO the world, He brings peace FOR the world – there’s a difference. Just as this war really isn’t a war, it’s a rebellion. This peace offering isn’t an offer of surrender from God; it’s an offer of amnesty for us. We have to lay down our arms and cease the rebellion which may not be as easy as it seems when we weigh what it could mean in the context of our relationships with other rebels. It’s highly probable that we will experience dissension and many other absences of peace as we join sides with their Enemy. Even in the midst of that conflict, the peace ‘in’ Christ still affords us eternal assurance far above that of temporary relationships.

Here’s The Word;

Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

I surely hope that the next time you see the baby lying in the manger; you’ll realize that Peace is so much more than the absence of discomfort. The presence of peace should settle you and give you an unwavering confidence to hold fast to Christ's Lordship and withstand the self driven-ness of this world. Out of all the things on your ‘to do’ list at this or any time of the year, the realization that the burden of “making things right with God” has been taken care of if you disarm and accept the terms of surrender. Furthermore, if you can trust That Baby to reconcile you to The Creator, He can surely assure you that if He’s got anything to do with your future; it’s as good as done…and not just done… but done so perfectly that even the thought of you trying to attempt what He’s able to accomplish would look absurdly juvenile.


Peace in Him!
Cros