Behold...Peace (2)
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What is Peace?
What is Peace?
Last week we started a new advent series called Behold. We looked at how a baby boy brought hope to a people, a nation and to us. Today, we look at peace and again I ask what is peace?
Peace
Freedom from disturbance; tranquility
A state or period in which there is no war or a war has ended
Peace
refers to the inner tranquility and poise of the Christian whose trust is in God through Christ
Two very different definitions. One is about outward appearance of peace, the other explains that peace comes from within through trust in God through Christ.
Christ alone can bring lasting peace—peace with God—peace among men and nations—and peace within our hearts.
Billy Graham
To have inward peace, we must have the peace only Christ can give in our hearts.
Last week, one of the names Isaiah called Christ was the Prince of Peace. Yet out of Christ’s mouth he said this
Don’t assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to turn
a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and a man’s enemies will be
the members of his household.
So which is right? Both are. To understand peace, we must look at why Jesus is called the Prince of Peace and also why he said he is not bringing peace.
Every December, we celebrate the birth of Christ. We know that Christ’s birthday is not December 25th. He was born closer to mid year on the Jewish Calendar. But that does not diminish the fact that we celebrate and recognize Jesus Christ’s birth at this time. We know the story. Go through the Christmas story.
Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on earth to people he favors!
Isaiah prophesied it and the angels proclaimed it…peace.
Notice earlier that the definition of peace for the Christian is trust in God through Christ. And last week, we found out that Christ is Emmanuel, God with us.
What we must realize is that peace did not come from his birth but His death.
For God was pleased to have
all his fullness dwell in him,
and through him to reconcile
everything to himself,
whether things on earth or things in heaven,
by making peace
through his blood, shed on the cross.
This here is the definition of Christian peace.
“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.
Notice what Christ says here…I do not give to you as the world gives.
When Isaiah prophesied, it did not come to pass for 740 years. Hope was in short supply, but peace was in even shorter supply. The Israelites were under Roman oppression. What the Israelites were looking for was a conquering savior. Someone who would bring end of the oppression and bring what we think of as peace.
Thousands of people each year visit the Winchester Mansion in San Jose, California. This massive structure was built by Sarah Winchester, the widow of the gun company owner. For thirty-eight years, from 1884 until her death in 1922, the house was under constant construction. Teams of carpenters, masons and other workers were employed around the clock. Various stories have been told about the reason for this unusual practice. Most center on Mrs. Winchester’s belief that she either was haunted or would be haunted by the ghosts of those killed by her husband’s weapons unless she kept building her house. Others claim that she thought she would not die as long as building continued.
Whatever the reason, she continued ordering more renovations and construction as long as she lived. There are more than 10,000 windows in the Winchester Mansion, doorways and stairs that lead to blank walls, and some 160 rooms in total. It is estimated that she spent more than $70,000,000 in today’s money on largely pointless construction—all in a desperate search for peace that was ultimately doomed to fail.
Many people today are seeking peace through equally fruitless means. They turn to pleasure, drugs, alcohol, immorality, wealth and other dead end avenues. . Like the staircases that lead nowhere in the Winchester Mansion, pursuing such paths will never bring peace. Instead we find peace when we follow the path that God has given us in His Word. Those who keep the law of God in their hearts and obey it in their actions add peace to their lives. Rather than seeking peace as an end, we should seek to follow Christ. When we do we will find that peace comes as a side effect that we receive from Him.
But people feel that peace is the lack of conflict. Peace is not an outward appearance, it is an inward action.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
But what did Christ mean when he said that he did not come to bring peace, but a sword? What he was saying is that His words, if you follow him, will bring conflict. His words are like a sword cutting through flesh and bone. It also causes division amongst those who believe and those who do not. Some of you here have experienced this first hand. It can turn friends against you. It can turn siblings against you. It can turn spouses against you. But guess what there is still peace when all this happens. Why cause our peace does not come from lack of conflict, but knowing our peace is beyond the things of this world.
When announcing the birth of Jesus, the angels proclaimed “peace on earth,” as if Jesus would bring peace. We ought to be able to go to the red-letter passages, these words of Jesus, to understand peace.
But when we go to the words of Jesus, we find, more often I’m afraid, that Jesus confronted our common notions of peace.
The one who loves a father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; the one who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
We’d like to think that Jesus, ruling and reigning as Prince of Peace, would make all the bad things go away and bring us peace. We’d like simple answers… or maybe a genie or fairy god mother to grant our wishes. But Jesus doesn’t allow us this selfish peace; he won’t allow this sort of secular, humanist, self-centered, consumerist view of peace.
Typical of last minute Christmas shoppers, a mother was running frantically from store to store. Suddenly she realized her three year old son was no longer holding her hand. In a panic she retraced her steps and found him standing near a frosty window, gazing at a manger scene. Hearing his mother’s near hysterical call, he turned and shouted with innocent glee: "Look Mommy! It’s baby Jesus in the hay". With obvious indifference and impatience, she grabbed him and said, "We don’t have time for that!"
In all the hustle and bustle, it seems like “peace” is about the last thing on our minds.
Which is why we need to talk about it.
True peace transcends the absence of conflict. It's a peace that surpasses human understanding, a gift from God Himself.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Even in life's chaos, the Prince of Peace offers a unique gift—a peace that the world cannot replicate.
The second Advent candle, symbolizes the peace that Christ offers—a peace that guards our hearts and minds.
The peace offered by the Prince of Peace is not just a passive state; it's transformative. It reshapes our thinking, aligning it with God's will, and brings about a renewal of our inner selves.
Life's storms are inevitable, but the Prince of Peace provides strength and stability in the midst of them. Our peace is not shaken because it's anchored in the Lord.
The peace of Christ not only sustains us in trials but also influences our responses to adversity. It transforms us into peacemakers, sowing seeds of peace in a world hungry for harmony.
Someone once wisely said, "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten who we belong to.
It is my prayer that the peace of Christ, which surpasses all understanding, not only guard our hearts and minds but propel us to be ambassadors of peace in a world desperate for it. As we continue our Advent journey, let our lives be a testimony to the transformative and unshakeable peace found in the Prince of Peace. In Him, we discover not just a momentary respite but a lasting and profound peace that echoes through eternity.