“I heard the bells on Christmas day

Their old, familiar carols play,

And mild and sweet

The words repeat

Of Peace on earth, goodwill to men.”

The opening stanza from this famous poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow strike a cord in us because there is a universal longing for peace on earth. We feel the world’s brokenness. Look at the wars, the corruption, and the suffering. As Christians, we know that we inhabit a cursed world that needs restoration.

While everyone wants peace and harmony, there is no consensus on the path to peace. Ask 10 different people and you will hear many opposing answers. People have contrasting strategies about how to achieve peace on earth and in our hearts. We want peace and tranquility in our lives, but it eludes us. Our past, conflict, indwelling sin, and our own mortality war against true peace.

This is why the Christian message is compelling. The path to peace always goes through the Prince of Peace. Stop searching for peace through human wisdom. Peace is only found in Christ, and that’s what Christmas is all about.

Peace with God

The Bible says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith, into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom. 5:1-2).

Before Christ enters our lives, we are at enmity with God. We try to rule our own lives and dethrone God, refusing to submit to Him. We live our lives like we were God. Scripture even calls us “enemies of God” apart from the gospel (Romans 5:10). If our sin is not atoned for we will die in our sins. We will spend eternity in hell, separated from God.

This is where the message of the gospel is truly GOOD NEWS. Through the gospel, God puts our sin upon Jesus. On the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for our sin and bore the wrath of God. Through our faith, God credits us as righteous in Christ. Jesus takes our rags, and gives us His riches. He gets our sins, and we get His righteousness. 

True peace doesn’t start with world leaders, summits, manifestos, and actions taken by the United Nations. It starts in the hearts of men and women, people who repent of their sins and take hold of Christ by faith. Peace with God is foundational to everything in life. Your most important relationship in life is between you and God. Do you have peace with God?  

The Peace of God (inner peace)

You’ve been justified “declared righteous” through the atoning work of Christ – now what? How do I live in light of the gospel?

It is easy to worry and be anxious in this broken world. You need God’s peace to rule in your hearts. Slow down. Pray. Let God’s peace flood your heart and mind.

I’ve been reading a biography about Elizabeth Eliot. Elizabeth and her husband Jim were missionaries in Ecuador back in the 1950’s and they desperately wanted to reach a tribe known as the Waodani with the gospel. The Waodani were legendary for being ruthless and vicious, killing those who ventured onto their territory. But the Eliots, along with several other missionaries, felt burdened to reach the Waodani with the good news of Jesus.

On January 8, 1956, 5 men (including Jim Eliot) were tragically speared to death as they attempted to reach the Waodani. They knew the risks but they were willing to sacrifice for the gospel. 

This is one of Elizabeth Eliot’s journal entries following her husband’s death. “The Lord has stood by all of us in a way unimaginable. All of us women are so happy that the men died in such a way – in the fullness of their might…..So far I have shed no tears since the final word came. This to me is a miracle. I have been a crybaby since we were married, but the Lord has literally fulfilled His word – the waters shall not overflow thee.”

She goes on: “I must refuse to dwell on all that we did together, on the brevity of our married life. I must refuse each weakening thought. It is true joy to think of Jim, without fault before the throne of God, victor, martyr, overcomer. Oh the privilege that is mine to have been given such a husband – God lent him to me for 2 years and 3 months.” 

As I read this, I was almost in tears. This woman had lost her husband, but yet she had God’s peace in her heart. Reading on, it was clear Elizabeth Eliot did shed plenty of tears and had weak moments as she pressed on in her missionary endeavors, but it was eminently clear she had “the peace of God” (Philippians 4:7).

In this world you will suffer. Jesus promised it. But God uses our suffering to make us like Jesus. He gives us peace beyond comprehension. The Bible says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26:3)

Relational Peace

The church is called to regularly gather together, worship, and feed on the Word of God. We need one another and are called to spur one another on to love and good deeds. But relationships are hard. Relational tension presents itself in a number of different forms. Sometimes, you don’t know what the problem is, but you can’t get along with someone.

The Psalmist writes in Psalm 120:6-7: “Too long I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war.” You will deal with this kind of conflict on occasion. But we must look to the example of Christ. We forgive and leave our lives in the hands of our faithful Creator – our Savior.

Having said that, peace should characterize the Body of Christ. Jesus said “this is how the world will know that you are my disciples – if you love one another.” God came to give us peace in every area of our lives. Because we have been reconciled to God, we can be reconciled to one another. We can cultivate harmonious and fulfilling relationships with one another.

One day Jesus will return to earth in glory and power. Having conquered all His enemies, there will finally be peace on earth, goodwill toward men. We call this our “blessed hope”, the day that Jesus returns. The second Advent. 

But now we celebrate His first coming. God came down at Christmas to save His people from their sins and give us the fullness of peace. Two thousand years ago, the multitude of angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased.” (Luke 2:14) The coming of the Son of God signals an unprecedented time of peace. We know that the heart of every human being longs for peace and that is what the Messiah came to bring us.

Does God’s peace rule your heart? Jesus can take your burdens! His yoke is easy, His burden is light. God can give you peace in your heart – a true and lasting peace!

Won’t you rest in Him this Christmas?