Peace
Peace.
A word frequently plastered on doors, printed on cards, and sewn on shirts throughout the Christmas season. A word bringing tranquility. A word causing deeper breaths and slower steps. At Christmas, with a perfect baby sleeping in a manger, peace is easy to take hold of.
But peace does not just happen with the snap of a finger. This tranquility, breath, and easy step comes because war has ended. There is no longer threat lurking around the corner. No longer danger hidden in the shrubs. No longer a cannon aimed our way. True peace comes because combat has ceased and the things of earth are no longer being broken into pieces. Someone has to drive away what threatens their cause.
It may be a friend resisting the pull to love another like family.
It may be a family influencing relatives to bend to the habits of the majority.
It may be a people defending their values in a coup against a leader.
It may be an army upholding the borders of their country from an invader.
Even with our drive to protect what we hold dear, war ALWAYS returns. We may breath in tranquil rest for a moment, but in this broken world, the next war is just around the corner. No matter our best punch, our best weaponry, our best technology, our best inventions, our best strategy, we will be standing face to face in another battle soon enough. Earth’s broken state guarantees we will bump against someone or someone will bump into us. The next battle cry is simply waiting for the clock to strike twelve again.
But war can be won. Peace can be embraced. The story of the perfect baby Jesus sleeping in a manger proclaims it. War simply takes a power bigger than earth to end. Bigger than you. Bigger than me. Bigger than a sophisticated army. Victory takes God.
The One who is mighty and powerful is the same One we call our God of peace.
The crescendo of God’s victory story began 2000 years ago. His power sent His baby son to earth, born outside the lines of human law. His power let His son live free from the disturbances of sin while surrounded by the brokenness of earth. His power rose Jesus from the dead. His power washed us clean of sin and blotted us dry of its’ seeping blood. His power ended the war of earth desiring to overtake Him. His power promised us a place at His Kingdom table. His power gave us peace.
God, who is so abundantly bigger than us, ended the war all by Himself.
His Kingdom won. His peace given. Without the help of another. Without someone telling Him to take action. Without an infantry surging the hill in front of Him. God won the war for our lives by His will and His alone.
From His power, comes peace.
Today, we celebrate our gift of peace received, because God mightily threw the final punch to win His war for all creation when He wrapped His infant son tight in the cloths of earth. He gave His son into the arms of earth so in His earthly death we could live in the tranquil peace of heaven. Today and forever more.
Yes, even in this broken world we live with peace. With His win God invited us into His great arms. We could have run away. But instead, we stepped in. We leapt in. Or maybe we crept in. No matter the way, once wrapped in His arms we landed on the side of His victory. We are now held tight by His covering of heaven. We stand fully swaddled with the love of the baby boy now fully crowned as our Prince of Peace.
We are free from our disturbance of sin and earth’s brokenness.
We are living in peace because His war has ended.
Merry Christmas!
