Peace on Earth

Peace on earth. Tidings of great joy that shall be for all people.

This season of Advent has brought much tragedy, much turmoil, much heartache. It seems like everywhere we look we see another sad sad situation. The news is filled with awful stories from the world. There are mothers everywhere whose hearts are breaking, but I needn't look as far as Peshawar to see that. A friend of mine lost her baby girl a couple months ago and faces a Christmas without a piece of her heart. My Facebook news feed is filled with loss and struggle.

It seems as if the entire world were crying out, just like long ago Israel, longing for redemption and deliverance. 

And I think about peace. And I wonder where the peace is. God promised peace. Where is it to be found? I am often reminded of this verse of "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day:"

And in despair I bowed my head;

 "There is no peace on earth," I said;

"For hate is strong, and mocks the song 

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

So I ponder. Either the peace is here or it is not and God was a liar. I believe that the coming of Jesus brought peace, so there must be a problem with my perception. 

So I look again. I look and I see two Nobel prize winners from enemy countries embracing, one vulnerable, the other comforting - both strengthening the bonds of peace. I see children being adopted into loving and nurturing homes. I see starving people fed and cold people housed. I see new life growing in a friend who had recently had the ground of her life plowed and turned upside down. I see my Lost Boys sitting in my living room watching movies and chatting 'til midnight. I see communities providing happy Christmases to many who could not afford it themselves.

I see the places that have been peace to me. I see the hands that work to build better things, better lives for people... Hands that extend grace and help. And in these places I see home, warmth, and welcome despite sorrow and circumstance. John Denver sang it well when he said, "Sometimes this old farm feels like a long lost friend. Oh it's good to be back home again." 

In the things, in these places I see the people of God doing the work of God's kingdom. This people, with the Spirit of the living God burning inside them, a people who have the unique distinction of being the intersection of time and eternity... Using prayer to bring the power of eternity to each moment. I see places of solace, holy places that God has called his own from far across eternity. I see havens built by the heart of those who love. I see warmth and joy and welcome... I see home, a reflection of the home Jesus creates for us - And in those things I find peace. The Kingdom of Peace founded by Emmanuel and built by the hands of God, his people... And these things are never far away, even in the midst of tragedy. So let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: 

"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; 

The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, 

With peace on earth, good-will to men."

(Art cred: Grace Remington - I just saw it on the Internet and loved it.)