The Missing Peace

Look around, do you see peace?  Have you ever seen it?

Is peace even possible?

What would it take to have peace?  Freedom?  Freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom from the threat of war?

What if we eliminated every instrument of violence  —  would we then have peace?

“Peace on Earth” is an old expression that surfaces every year about this time. It’s something everyone wants, yet few seem to find. Is this a genuine expression, or just one of the empty clichés that make up the jargon of holiday cheer?

The bible tells us that with the birth of Jesus Christ,  a multitude of the heavenly hosts appeared to the shepherds,  praising God, and saying;

 “Glory to God in the highest,  and on earth peace, good will toward men”

Yet even the birth of Jesus himself caused a very un-peaceful event.  King Herod the Great ordered the massacre of innocent boys two years of age and younger because he was threatened by the news of this “Newborn King,”

The bible calls Christ the “Prince of Peace.”  But over two-thousand years after his arival we see that war, genocide and unrest continue to exist.

Did Jesus fail?

In Romans 12:18, Paul appeals to us. He says,

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

What is peace?

True peace must include freedom and harmony.  But not for a day or a month… it would have to be everlasting.  An unchanging condition that can only be obtained through the grace of God. That’s where Jesus comes in — the Prince of Peace.

What Jesus brings can’t be earned, bought, or legislated.  It won’t come into being by way of international treaty or United Nations’ decree.

His goal in coming to earth was to do more than cease hostilities; he came to bring about a full and everlasting relationship with God.

As it turns out, peace isn’t a laid-back lifestyle in a tropical paradise…

Peace is a condition of the heart.

So go … Tell it on the mountain!

Peace is at hand… Peace is Christ.

Photo credit: John Attebury via Foter.com / CC BY