Peace to You

The Christmas holiday is a holiday of peace. Luke 2:8-14 speaks of peace when the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds:

“In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were sore afraid. 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; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’”

The Jewish culture greets each other with the word “shalom.” This greeting means: peace to you…and the return greeting is: peace unto you. I once heard an explanation of how it means there is nothing lacking or nothing missing. We all desire wholeness and harmony in our lives. We desire love and peace. The Webster dictionary defines the word peace as “a state of tranquility or quiet.” We need to seek to have peace with one another and most importantly with God.

Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. He has come to reconcile, restore, and to renew. “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.” (Ephesians 2:14-18) We should not allow anyone or anything to take away our peace.

The Word of God is a strength to us during the time of a storm or heartache. In John 16:33 Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Let us not focus on the tribulation in the world; let us focus on the provision of peace in Christ. God’s love is a firm foundation for us to build our lives upon. Philippians 4:8 tells us to meditate upon what is noble, true, and lovely. We are not to focus on our feelings in the flesh, but we need to live our lives in the Spirit. I realize this is a battle many people face. Our enemy would love for us to feel guilt, shame, and condemnation in our lives. God wants us to live with peace, joy, and love in our hearts. This Christmas, my prayer is that you will have true peace that only can be found through our Savior.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and God’s peace in the coming year. ~Charlie DeTellis