A major theme of the Christmas season is peace on earth. For whatever your reason, what do you consider the most peaceful place on earth?
I have a couple. My parents’ house is always a peaceful, comforting place to me. I also feel really peaceful when I’m just sitting in a cathedral.
Christmas is called a time of peace. People talk about it. You’ve probably seen doves or other kinds of peace symbols on Christmas cards. But what most people don’t talk about is why this is a season of peace.
When the angels announced Jesus’ birth, they sang, “Peace on earth!” because one of the names for the promised Savior was the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). They were proclaiming that Peace had now come to rule on earth! Many people thought that meant that as soon as the Messiah came, He would “protect all the good guys and get rid of all the bad guys (or maybe throw them in jail)” like some kind of cartoon super hero! But Jesus came to bring a different kind of peace. He gives us a peace that stays with us no matter what. God’s kind of peace fills your heart and makes you feel loved. It is a peace that only God can give and there is nothing else that can take its place.
Many people try to fill that place with something else. Do you know kids who are angry and bully other kids? They are trying to fill that place with power. Some kids try to fill that place with friends, or food, or lots of toys and clothes. They are trying to fill that place with acceptance. Other kids try to fill that God-shaped place with something good like getting good grades, or being helpful. But even if you try filling that place in your heart with good things, it will be like using the wrong key in a lock. It can never open the door to God’s peace, and will never make you completely happy, because you have tried to fill it with something that doesn’t fit right.
Have you ever tried to open a door with the wrong key? It might look like the right key. It might even go into the lock. But when you try to turn it and open the door, nothing happens. That is what it’s like when we try to fill our hearts with something other than God: we become frustrated, unhappy, and upset. But when we fill our hearts with the Lord, we find peace.
Jesus said, “In Me you may have peace. In the world you will have hard things happen to you; but be of good cheer, I have conquered the world” (John 16:33).
That means that no matter what difficult situation we face, we can have peace. If you aren’t facing something hard right now, thank the Lord. But if you are, ask the Lord to help you, and remember: no matter what you face, the Prince of Peace is right there with you.
–The 25 Days of Christmas by Rebecca Hayford Bauer
Yes, home feels very peaceful to me too. But I would add just about anywhere under the night sky when it is dark enough to see the milky way, as well as being on a mountaintop like Mt. Leconte.
ReplyDeleteBut no place is peaceful in itself is it - only inasmuch as we are at peace with Jesus and his work of redemption & grace in us. John 16:33 is so true...
I always feel most at peace in nature - I'll agree with Dad on the starry night sky, or on a hike. I also love the peaceful feeling of sitting next to someone and not feeling like you have to make conversation...
ReplyDeleteI feel peaceful walking at Radnor Lake--fall, spring, in the snow...in any kind of weather. And I feel peaceful sitting in my kitchen at the table with the sunshine streaming through my clam shell in the window and making it look like an "angel".
ReplyDeleteMy favorite quote in today's post is: "God's kind of peace fills your heart and makes you feel loved." This is so true. "Feeling loved"--experiencing for ourselves the love of God (Ephesians 3:19)brings PEACE. No other key unlocks PEACE like "knowing by experience the love of Christ". It's amazing how we "sober up" and "settle down" when we feel loved.
Since Patrick would like to hear "The Wheels on the Bus" in St. Paul's Cathedral, perhaps he would like to take his favorite "Wheels on the Bus Singers" along...you know, the ones he keeps on call 24/7 on Skype!
Here's a very peaceful place: In Patrick's nursury, when he's asleep. You can sit in the glider and hear him breathing, and it feels so still. Of course, if he wakes up, then you're caught, and the peace takes a lot more imaginatino to appreciate.
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