Peace On Earth

If Christmas is a season of peace, then why don’t I feel peaceful?

We’ve all felt the contrast before. We sing the classic Christmas Carols:

“Silent Night, Holy Night- all is calm, all is bright”

And as we exit the church where the song is sung- you drive straight to the mall and madly search for a parking spot. Once you finally find a spot, you anxiously weave through the hoardes of equally tense people hoping to get to the right store, find that “in demand” clothing item that your loved one needs so badly, pray that their size is there, and get out of there as quickly as possible.

Once you finally get through the traffic and arrive home, you begin the process of wrapping gifts, cleaning, and baking… baking… baking. There are guests to host, mouths to feed, etc.

And although it seems like days have passed since you sang those words “all is calm, all is bright”, the short time since has reflected anything but these sacred lyrics.

Why does Christmas bring up so many contrasting feelings? If you are anythnig like me, you can’t help but notice that the feelings that Christmas evokes do not align with the promises of scripture that would be fulfilled through the coming Messiah.

Think about this passage in the book of Isaiah for a moment:

Isaiah 9:6 ESV

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

If we take the promises of scripture to be true and believe today that each of these statements about the Messiah would be fulfilled through Him, then that must mean that there is something off about the way that we celebrate the season of His birth.

No, I’m not saying that it is wrong to gather with family and celebrate together- but there has to be more to it!

This Christmas, I want to consider briefly what peace in Christ is, and in hopes, offer you a way to have true peace in a season that can feel like the exact opposite.

The Origin of Peace

When you read the prophecies looking towards the Messiah- we have to remember that their purpose was to prepare people for an experience that had not yet arrived. You see, the people who were receiving this promise were desperately in need of such peace. Except their problems were far worse than a busy parking lot.

You see, the Old Testament tells the story of the nation of Israel. God’s chosen people. This nation carried a promise that they were to be blessed by God and be a blessing to the rest of the earth. The only problem was that in order to experience the fulness of this promise, they had to remain faithful to God and His law. As they partnered with God- they were to be at peace with their creator, and thus, maintain a peaceful existence.

They struggled with this constantly.

And so they experienced the consequences for their sin. And this wasn’t limited to an individual problem- it was a national problem.

The outcome of their disobedience was to be overtaken by another nation. To fall under the oppressive rule of their conquerors (Babylon, Assyria, and even Rome). And oppression is far from the peace that they hoped for.

This was fairly routine as generation after generation fell into disobedience becuase of sin.

You can look at the entire Old Testament and summarize that the further humanity removes themselves from God, the less peace that they have.

And so- you have people in desperate need for what they once had full access to. A problem that needed to be solved.

The Solution of Peace

And so, while the Israelite people find themselves trapped under the oppressive rule of other nations, God speaks words of hope and encouragement through His prophets. But these were not empty words:

“There there buddy- it’s going to be okay”

These were words of promise- and when God makes a promise, you can bet that He will deliver.

The people were told that there would be a coming king-:

Isaiah 7:14 ESV

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

When you go through the various Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah, you see that they contain specific details, all of which come true.

Through this coming Messiah- the fractured relationship between God and Humanity would be restored once and for all. And if peace is truly possible through unity with God- then it would be through the life of this coming saviour that we can finally have peace.

How fortunate are we to be able to look back and see this be fulfilled through Christ:

-We know that Jesus did come, born of a virgin and live a full life on earth

-We know that he was betrayed and put to death on a cross

-We know that by dying, he took on all of our sins and satisfied the cost that we incurred through our disobedience to God

-We know that He has overcome the power of death by rising from the dead.

All of this has confirmed that we do in fact have acces to peace- but the only way for us to truly find it is through Christ. While you were once far from God- you have been brought near.

So- if Christ has made peace available to us, then how can we live a peaceful life?

Experiencing Peace

This is a question that is not foreign to Scripture. As he is preparing his disciples for His coming death, Jesus gives them a very powerful promise:

John 14:27 NLT

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

Would you trade you Christmas gifts for that? But how can we have peace in the absence of Christ’s physical presence?

The context of this passage answers that question for us:

John 14:15–18 NLT

“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.

and a little later on:

John 14:23–26 ESV

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

So basically- John is saying this:

Our responsibility in this- not dissimilar to the Israelites, is to remain faithful to God. To obey what we see Jesus asking us to do. But as we do this, we are not alone. The Holy Spirit is going to provide us with all of the help that we need- and we can be at peace knowing that God is with us, He is speaking to us, and He is moving through us.

Peace Beyond the Parking Lot

So let’s recap for a moment:

-We have discussed that the absence of peace is caused when we are separate from God. Sin separates us from God.

-We know that Jesus has restored our fractured relationship to God by dying for our sins on the cross. We can have peace because of this act of grace.

-We can experience peace through putting our faith in Christ and learning to walk with the Holy Spirit that He has given us.

This is the promise of God that exists for you today.

So, if you are watching this video and you are thinking: Man- my life is chaos. I just need peace. Then can I encourage you that the only way to experience true peace is by putting your faith in Christ and learning to walk in the Spirit.

remember today that all of this is packaged as a gift to you- not a purchase that needs to be made. You don’t have to earn what Christ has already paid for- the call is to receive and walk in faith. We walk in faith by learning to obey what Jesus has asked us to do.

So this Christmas season, I want you to know that you can have peace. The lyrics of the Christmas Carol Hark the Harold Angels Sing ring true when it sings:

“Peace on earth and Mercy Mild- God and sinners reconciled”

Would you join me in a word of prayer?