“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”–John 14:26–27
The message of the angels that first Christmas night of “peace on earth” is a promise that has not yet been fulfilled. We live in a world filled with hatred, violence, conflict, and war. Yet God’s promise of peace, like all of His promises is certain. And while we who know Him can have peace even in a troubled world, one day Jesus will rule a perfectly peaceful world.
In a Christmas sermon titled “The Child in the Manger” T. DeWitt Talmage said, “Have you ever thought how strangely this song of peace must have sounded to the Roman Empire? Why, that Roman Empire gloried in its arms, and boasted of the number of men it had slain, and with triumph looked at conquered provinces. Their highest honors had been bestowed upon Fabius and Scipio and Caesar. It was men of blood and carnage that they honored. With what contempt they must have looked upon a kingdom the chief principle of which was to be goodwill to men, and upon the unarmed, penniless Christ, who, in Nazarene garb, was about to start out for the conquest of the nations.”
We do not have to wait for some future date to enjoy God’s peace. Paul wrote, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful” (Colossians 3:15). Each day we can make the choice to live in peace, no matter what the world around us is experiencing.(Daily in the Word)
