“I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”
And that message of hope at the birth of Christ hasn’t faded into oblivion with the march of the centuries. That Light, that Hope, that Peace still shines brightly after twenty centuries!
But peace is so elusive in our age of technology. Past wars have eventually ended and communism fell in eastern Europe and Russia. Many proclaimed a new era of peace only to be disappointed.
Who took the promises of peace seriously? Nobody, really. We know the problems aren’t over. We still read of brushfire wars, wars in the Middle East, and terrorism around the world. We face the ever-present possibility that somebody will plunge the world into nuclear holocaust. Peace seems as far off as ever. Even if we forget the problems of the rest of the world, there is still no peace.
It’s dangerous to walk the streets of many of our cities night or day! Peaceful suburban and rural homes become the object of sex maniacs, robbers, and cutthroat murderers . . . peace . . . peace . . . and there is no peace.. . .
But back to the Good Tidings!
There is peace in 2006—a peace not elusive—a peace that will stand the test of our not-so-peaceful society.
Where is that peace? What’s the evidence?
The evidence is all around us, in the lives of men and women who have been transformed by the Peace Giver Himself—Jesus Christ.
Christ came (that’s the Good Tidings!) to bring an inner, lasting peace—a peace of mind and life. This peace stays when all the feeble attempts at world peace have crumbled.
The Author of peace said, “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 14:27).
Peace only comes after an unconditional surrender— a surrender to Christ. Peace is living for Him and obeying Him. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee” (Isaiah 26:3). “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6).
If we have that PEACE, we are most happy!
If you are a Christian, you have received peace as a gift from your Maker. That makes you a peacemaker. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit—a concrete evidence that you’re a genuine Christian.
The Christian’s inner peace shines out of him. It does not pay back evil for evil. It returns good when the impulse is to “stand for one’s rights.”
There are legions of people out to find peace—peace that the Christian already has. They may not know exactly what they’re looking for, but you have the real answer to their search. You’ll see the mobs out frantically trying to get peace with material things and fleeting pleasure. The letdown comes when it’s all over.
The Christmas season is coming and the packaged merriment and holiday “fun” will not bring lasting peace. It will be stashed in mothballs till next year. It was really only a mask to cover an empty, gnawing loneliness and gloom. The masses have replaced Christ, the LIGHT OF LIGHTS with a string of light bulbs. Well do I remember as a youngster, enjoying the music, the “fun,” and the lights of Christmas celebration. But when Christmas Day was over, I was miserable. My inspiration was gone with the music. My spirits fell like the dried pine needles on the Christmas tree. For, you see, I had not the Spirit of Him who came to give lasting peace. And millions more know not this Prince of Peace.
If you are a Christian, now is the time to speak to someone about the peace of God that you know. Christians have an alternative, indeed the only worthy alternative, to the empty boredom and absence of peace in this world.
Through Jesus Christ you can know the only way to peace in a peaceless world. In Christ, you can live and proclaim the “good tidings of great joy.” “His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, THE PRINCE OF PEACE” (Isaiah 9:6)
-by Roger L Berry