There was never any peace in our family growing up. If you have kids, you know what I mean. I am 4 years older than my sister and I can tell you that we didn’t have much in common. I can remember our sock wars. Anyone else have those? You know what that is? In our house, our rooms were at opposite ends of the same hall. We would set up blockades in our respective doorways and empty our sock drawers out on the floor. It was on. The battle was on. The war began. We hurled socks tied in knots back and forth until the surrender cry rang through the house. Usually, the sock wars didn’t last long, but I remember they were fun! I love my sister, but 4 years age difference was huge! We would never agree much about places to eat or movies to watch. She liked certain kinds of music and I liked other kinds of music. Because of all the competing music from opposite ends of a hallway, my parents never had peace in the house. Many of you have those same memories growing up in your homes. Many of you live in that reality now. Peace was overshadowed by differences. Was it an unpeaceful house? No. We were just kids growing up and living out personality differences (haha). At the end of the day, we would always make up and get the socks ready for the next big battle!
If you look around the world, you rarely see peace. Uprisings, political disagreements, economic struggles, and crime threaten peace every day. It seems that there is no peace to be found. Christianity finds no peace in a society that deems it to be too inclusive. The traditional family finds no peace in a society that attempts to redefine marriage with the assertion of same-sex attraction. Jails are overcrowded. Drug use is rampant and even legal in some states. It is just difficult to find peace.
However, there is great news! Before Christ was born He was called the Prince of Peace. I know of no one in history who was called the Prince of Peace. Ultimately, Jesus is our Ruler of Peace. Jesus came to earth to reconcile relationship between God and us. Jesus came to bring peace. Even the angels in their greeting to the shepherds the same night Jesus was born said, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace and goodwill to all men (Luke 2:14).” Their greeting included the proclamation of peace to a world that even then was experiencing unrest and no peace. Jesus was about to totally change their world. He still changes our world.
Personal peace is found exclusively in Jesus. The apostle Paul wrote, “and through Christ, God has brought all things back to himself again – things on earth and things in heaven. God made peace through the blood of Christ’s death on the cross (Colossians 1:20).” This peace in salvation is what makes peace between men possible. It provides a spiritual unity that transcends any other conflict management tool known to man. Jesus planted love in our hearts at salvation, and as we develop and mature as His disciples we will exhibit peace, which is a fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22. The reason we demonstrate peace between others and us is because we actually have peace in Jesus.
Don’t let the seed of discontentment take root in your life this Christmas. Don’t let the seed of worry eclipse your peace. Remember, the only way you can experience ultimate peace with God is to experience salvation through Christ. This will bring you more peace than anything you can imagine.