Perfect Peace!

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:14

A few weeks ago, a good friend and I were having lunch. The conversation covered many areas, but somewhere in the middle, she asked, “Do you find that you are happy these days?” It was a conversation stopper, but I replied simply, “Yes, I think so.” Then, I asked her the same question, and she replied, “I’m happy, but I can’t seem to find peace in this life lately.” The question of peace in our lives is different for all of us, but everyone individually innately seems to know when we have reached that perfect peace.

Peace is defined as being free from disturbances or tranquility. The Christian would probably say that perfect peace comes from being whole or complete. Peace comes when we turn our lives over to Christ, but perfect peace is only achieved when we focus on God in all circumstances.

Biblical peace, however, is more than just the absence of conflict, it is taking action to restore a broken situation. It’s more than that state of inner tranquility, but more a wholeness and completeness within ourselves. It’s not something we can create on our own, but rather comes as a gift from God.

The Bible tell us that the angels told of peace, good will to men that night long ago in Bethlehem. It’s amazing that the angels foretold of peace when the times were not peaceful. The people were under the oppressive rule of Rome and its emperor, and they were either part of the nobility (about 10%) or very poor. The angels’ proclamation was an important part of God’s plan to introduce His son to the world and show that His invitation to receive salvation extends to the humblest shepherd, the most esteemed leader, and all the people in between.

The Book of Psalms says, “Search for peace and work to maintain it.” In this world of today sometimes it’s hard to find peace, and once we’ve found it, it’s even harder to maintain the peace in our lives. If we want to enjoy peace this Christmas, it is good to identify what things steal your peace and work to eliminate those things from our thoughts.

Peace stealers are different for all of us. On any given day, a multitude of things creep into our lives and try to steal our peace. It can be anything from the news, traffic, a to do list, fatigue, worry, the weather, or a situation we can’t control.

It’s good to know ourselves so we can identify the problem and eliminate it from our thoughts. I’ve found that it’s helpful to make a mental list of the things that disrupt the peace in my life. If we are honest about the “thieves” which upset us, then we can break free. In the middle of the storms of everyday life, we can be anchored in God’s peace.

The angels were saying to us that Christmas peace begins with peace with God, and then, as a result, we are flooded with the peace of God. We have peace with God because of our relationship with Christ, and we can have peace with each other if we let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts and lives. It’s because of Christ that we can live in peace with one another.

Christmas should bring a certain peace to us because on that night, God did something extraordinary. Max Lucado puts it this way, “Stepping from the throne, He removed His robe of light and wrapped Himself in skin; pigmented human skin. The light of the universe entered a dark, wet womb. He whom angels worshiped nestled Himself in the placenta of a peasant, was birthed into the cold night, and then slept on cow’s hay. Mary didn’t know whether to give Him milk or give Him praise, so she gave Him both since He was as near as she could figure, hungry and holy. Joseph didn’t know whether to call him Junior or Father, but in the end, He called him Jesus, since that’s what the angel said, and since he didn’t have the faintest idea what to name a God he could cradle in his arms.”

It is important to focus on the real meaning of the Christmas season. Remember that while situations on this earth may cause his stress, we can find true peace when we turn our focus to Christ and His great love for us. This Christmas we can make ourselves instruments of God’s peace by deciding that we are not going to let this world steal our peace and resolve to pass on the Christmas peace to others.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Merry Christmas!