Christmas PeaceWORLD WAR I: 100 YEARS LATER

Christmas Peace

What Happened During the Christmas Truce of 1914?

Starting on Christmas Eve, many German and British troops fighting in World War I sang Christmas carols to each other across the lines, and at certain points the Allied soldiers even heard brass bands joining the Germans in their joyous singing.

At the first light of dawn on Christmas Day, some German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man’s-land, calling out “Merry Christmas” in their enemies’ native tongues. At first, the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick, but seeing the Germans unarmed they climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy soldiers. The men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sang carols and songs. Some Germans lit Christmas trees around their trenches, and there was even a documented case of soldiers from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of soccer. 

German Lieutenant Kurt Zehmisch recalled: “How marvelously wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers felt the same way about it. Thus Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as friends for a time.”

Many people long for a truce just a break in fighting with the world, family, their job, government.

When God offers peace, it goes beyond merely laying down of arms. It is a positive affirmation of wholeness and acceptance before God

It describes a peace that is positive; a time, place, and condition that features love, righteousness, calmness, political and moral uprightness and much more. It is a word reserved for those who walk with God in a positive relationship.

Luke 2:10–14 NASB95

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

Jesus Came in Peace.

Jesus didn’t stay in heaven and Lord power over us.

Jesus came and He didn’t build a fortified castle.

2. Jesus Creates Peace.

With God.

Jesus didn’t build walls between Heaven and us. He became the bridge that we can cross over. We don’t have to work to make peace with God. Jesus did all the word. Every other religion says, You’ve got to do something to get to heaven. You got to work at something to prove to God you deserve to be in Heaven.

Jesus says done. You just need to come to Him in thankfulness.

Colossians 1:19–20 NASB95

19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Within Ourselves.

If you look at books on psychology you will see that most of them are written to give peace to people who are in some kind of turmoil —

in turmoil over past failures, over unfulfilled expectations, over declining relationships, over financial problems over everything from career boredom to sexuality, to flabby thighs.

The philosopher Albert Camus has called our era “an age of overt anxiety.”

Jesus provides a way for us to get rid of that nagging shame of sin. The idea that one might not measure up or be wanted. Jesus will forgive all sin. He will calm every heart. He will accept everyone one of us that come to Him.

With Others.

Ephesians 4:32 NASB95

32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

3. Jesus Calls you to make Peace.

Declaration of Christmas Peace is announced in several Finnish cities on Christmas Eve.

"Tomorrow, God willing, is the graceful celebration of the birth of our Lord and Saviour;and thus is declared a peaceful Christmas time to all, by advising devotion and to behave otherwise quietly and peacefully,because he who breaks this peace and violates the peace of Christmas by any illegal or improper behaviour shall under aggravating circumstances be guilty and punished according to what the law and statutes prescribe for each and every offence separately.Finally, a joyous Christmas feast is wished to all inhabitants of the city."

A doctor examined his patient and concluded that nothing physical was wrong with him. He said, “You probably have some business or social problem that you should talk over with a good counselor. I dealt with a case very similar to yours only a few weeks ago. This patient of mine had a $5,000 debt that he could not pay. Because of his financial problem he had worried himself into a state of nervous exhaustion.” “And did you cure him?” asked the patient. “Yes,” said the doctor. “I told him just to stop worrying, that life is too short to make himself sick over a silly little scrap of paper. Now he’s back to normal; he stopped worrying.” “I know,” said the patient, “I’m the one he owes the $5,000 to, and that’s what I’m worried about.”

You and I cannot pay the price for peace. We will have NO PEACE until we know the Prince of Peace.

Jesus came to pay the price we owe for peace and the price for us to enter His peace.

Like me, need to be reminded that Jesus came to bring us peace? The Bible says that when we allow His Spirit to fill us one of the results of that spiritual experience is peace; the fruit of the Spirit is peace (Galatians 5:22). Maybe you are not at peace because all you seem to be able to think about are your problems, and that keeps you in a constant state or unrest and anxiety. You need an eye adjustment of about forty-five degrees. Instead of staring horizontally at your problem and only glancing at God, you need to raise your plane of vision about forty-five degrees to gaze at God and only glance at your problem. The Bible says of our God, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee” (Isaiah 26:3).

Questions to reflect on this Christmas

1. Have I received Peace with God through Christ?

find peace with God. He came to live life perfectly and died in our place to pay the consequence for our sin. His death made peace between our sinful nature and God’s holy nature. His coming back to life gives us hope of living in peace with God.

2. Have I discovered wholeness in Jesus? Do I base my value and worth based on what God says to me and about me? Where have I let the world define and draw me? Where do I need to declare Christ’s truth in my life?

Isaiah 26:3–4 NASB95

3 “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You. 4 “Trust in the Lord forever, For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.

We find wholeness and peace with ourselves. Our esteem is based on what God thinks of us — something that never changes — instead of on the fluctuating foundations of others’ opinions, fleeting accomplishments, or changing circumstances. Our identity is based on who God has made us to be, not on the things that we do.We find wholeness and peace in our relationship with others because we begin to change and see people through God’s eyes.

3. Do I follow God’s example of loving enemies and offering peace?

Romans 12:18 NASB95

18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.

We remember that God first loved us, and we grow in wanting to extend love to others.We can bring healing and wholeness to others around us, in the communities, the cities, and the world we live in. We begin to see hope for change in others and the world around us. But it all starts by knowing the Prince of Peace!