The Sign of Peace

By Alan Ahlgrim

“Peace on earth, good will to men.” It”s one of the most common refrains of Christmas, and yet one of the most elusive of realities. Conflicts rage all around us. Families are fractured. Friendships are strained. Nations are at war.

Christmas is not always a peace-filled time, and yet, peace is the essence of the message of Christmas. I suspect peace is what everyone most wants: peace with God and peace with others. You could receive all sorts of expensive and extravagant gifts this year, but without peace in your heart you will be unfulfilled. If you have a strained or broken relationship with someone important to you, a conflict that haunts you, then you are certainly longing for relational peace. If you have any sort of unconfessed or unresolved sin in your life, then there is a distance with God right now that is depriving you of personal peace.

CONDITIONAL PEACE

The absence of peace is a sign that something isn”t right. Isn”t it fascinating that at the beginning of the Christmas story the prospect of peace is announced to all, and that prospect is just as real today as ever before (Luke 2:13-20)?

While the prospect of peace is presented to everyone, the reality of peace is not experienced by all. There”s a reason for that. Peace is conditional. The angels made it clear just why that is when they said, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14).

That”s why you can live in a mansion and still be miserable. You can have perfect health and still be sick in your spirit. You can have people all around you and still be lonely. Genuine peace is inextricably linked with the favor of God.

The Jews of old knew this. They often used the simple greeting of “shalom,” a word that has two meanings. The first describes perfect welfare, serenity, happiness, contentment, and joy that is rooted in a right relationship with God. The second addresses the need for right relationships with others. It has to do with intimacy, fellowship, and uninterrupted good will among men.

Now, let”s face it, when it comes to uninterrupted good will among men, the prospect for peace seems pretty dismal. According to the Peace Research Laboratory, over the last 3,500 years there have only been 270 years in which there were no declared wars. And in some of the 3,230 years of conflict, there have been as many as 25 wars raging simultaneously. And it kind of feels like one of those times right now.

In many places on this planet danger is intense and peace is nowhere to be found.

We live in a fallen world””a world broken by sin””and many times innocent people are caught in the crossfire. That is constantly happening right now in the West Bank, Afghanistan, and Iraq, and no one knows how to stop it. Every bomb, every shot, every attack prompts a response.

How then can there ever be peace? Well, obviously only through the One who is the Prince of Peace. In Isaiah 9:6, the Messiah is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. That is, only when his reign is recognized will there ever be true peace on earth, for peace can come only to those on whom his favor rests.

The favor of God is always conditional on a right relationship with God that can only come through Jesus Christ. That”s exactly what Jesus promised his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you” (John 14:27). This is really an extraordinary promise, and one that everyone can have.

Even in times of turmoil raging around the world and even during times of turmoil with those who are closest to us, peace with God is more than a possibility, because peace with God is a reality through Jesus Christ.

No one enjoys perfect and perpetually peaceful relationships with others.

IMPERFECT LIVES

Relationships can be exceedingly fragile and tremendously complex. Sometimes long-term friendships can be stressed or strained over the smallest of things. You probably have at least one or two of those right now. Someone has said or done something very hurtful, or you have said or done something very hurtful. Sometimes you can make that right, and sometimes you can”t.

Scripture is very realistic about this. The writer of Hebrews said: “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy”¦” (Hebrews 12:14). Or as Paul says in Romans 12:18: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” We might translate that as, do what you can to do what”s right.

You can”t please everyone, but do what you can to do what”s right. You may be dealing with a strained or broken relationship, and Christmas can be the toughest time of year for such things. On the other hand, often these issues can be resolved at Christmastime. Hearts are often soft and receptive at this time of year, so if someone is a special burden to you, do what you can to do what”s right. A simple note of kindness, a small gift, or a gesture of forgiveness might be all that is necessary.

But don”t let your imperfect relationships with people deprive you of enjoying peace with God. I find it fascinating that the shepherds in the Christmas story focused their attention on finding the Savior, and then glorifying and praising God.

They did that even though their lives weren”t necessarily perfect. Despite the fact they had less than ideal jobs, less than ideal circumstances, and (because they were human) less than ideal relationships. The coming of the Savior became their obsession, and sharing that story became their primary mission. That is, they were given the wonderful gift of a purpose beyond the mundane. Their peace was the result of their praise.

Haven”t you noticed the same thing? The more you share the good news of God”s love with others””the more you celebrate and sing””the more your spirit is at rest?

Personal faith is a very positive and practical thing. A sound theology results in a sound psychology. For example, the apostle Paul, a man who experienced a series of painful personal relationships, still declared that since we have been justified by faith we have peace with God through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1).

This is a wonderfully liberating message. It means we don”t have to be burdened about performing for God in order to be in a right relationship with God. Many people live with the burden of performance; they always wonder whether or not they have “done enough” to please God.

I have heard Christians who were near death say, “I wonder if I have done enough to please God?” They were asking whether their salvation was in jeopardy because of an imperfect or inadequate performance in life.

In each case I surprised them with a rather light response to a heavy concern. I said, “Well, if God ever changes the grace plan, you are probably going to be in big trouble!” That”s because no one has a perfect life, no one can produce a perfect performance for God, and no one has nonstop perfect relationships. No one!

But anyone can enjoy genuine peace””a deep inner confidence in God. It”s the conviction that God is at work in ways we can see and in many more we cannot see, and that God will in his time make all things right.

WAITING FOR GOD

The “in his time” part is the key. This world and all that is in it are ultimately either directed by God or redeemed by God. First Peter 5:6 says: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God”s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”

Obviously Satan has considerable influence; however, God has the final say. That”s why it”s possible to have and to enjoy the peace of God even in the midst of war. The peace of God does not depend upon outside circumstances. It can even flourish in the face of awful circumstances.

When author Jim Collins was researching his book Good to Great, he met with Adm. Jim Stockdale, the highest ranking U.S. military officer in the “Hanoi Hilton” prisoner of war camp during the height of the Vietnam War. He was tortured more than 20 times during his eight years of confinement, and he also endured the uncertainty of never knowing if he would ever see his family again.

When Collins was preparing to interview Stockdale, he read Stockdale”s In Love and War. Collins said reading the book was a depressing experience because it seemed so bleak and hopeless, even though he knew how it ended.

When he finally met the admiral, he asked him how he had dealt with it all. Stockdale replied, “I never lost faith in the end of the story.

“I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which in retrospect, I would not trade.”

As Collins and Stockdale walked the beautiful campus of Stanford University, Stockdale was limping with a stiff leg that had never fully recovered from repeated torture. Collins asked him, “Who didn”t make it out?” Stockdale”s answer surprised him. “The optimists.”

That was very confusing until Stockdale explained, “The optimists who said, “˜We”re going to be out by Christmas.”

“And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they”d say, “˜We”re going to be out by Easter.”

“And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart.”

He said, “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end””which you can never afford to lose””with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”

GOD WITH US

You may be facing a very difficult situation right now””a situation that in all likelihood will not be resolved by Christmas””but that doesn”t mean you can”t have peace with God right now.

Jesus never fooled his followers. Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Peace is not just the absence of conflict or a life free of difficulty. Peace is confidence in the presence of God . . . which, of course, is the message of Christmas. Emmanuel, God with us. God with us in the midst of conflict. God with us in the midst of crisis.

I don”t know the full circumstances of your life, but I have to assume you might be struggling. You may be facing a health problem or a financial problem or a relationship problem. You may be living with an inner ache that comes from the death of loved one, or the death of a dream, or the devastation of a personal betrayal.

Life can deal out some pretty tough stuff, as the Lord anticipated. He told us we would all have trouble; however, he also told us that in him we would have peace, as we focus not on our troubles but on our Savior.

May this be a peace-filled Christmas for us all, because we all choose to focus on the Prince of Peace.

 

 

Alan Ahlgrim, a member of Standard Publishing”s Publishing Committee, ministers with Rocky Mountain Christian Church, Longmont, Colorado.