Peace

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Luke 2:14

Peace. We bring this word out every year at this time and place it upon our greeting cards, but I find the idea of "peace on earth" to be a bit allusive for most of the year. Other than at Christmas time, perhaps we associate the word with pacifists and protestors. They own the word for most of the year, and we get to borrow it during the month of December!

It wasn't too many years ago that I remember having a discussion at a small group on the subject of "Peace and the Christian". The conversation was anything but peaceful! I am usually amazed at how discussing peace among believers can become so contentious. It is an infuriating subject for some. I once heard a man say "We are not called to peace but to justice!" I kind of thought they were one in the same, but for some reason, this man was more interested in doling out "justice" than he was "peace".

Of course, his idea of justice was to give to people what they deserved -- or at least what he thought they deserved! I -- for one -- am glad that God did not dole out what we deserved when he entered time as a babe in Bethlehem! When the incarnation of the Father came to earth, he brought peace -- and that peace is his idea of justice! Why does the idea of peace disturb us so much? Perhaps it is because there is something in the nature of man that is conflicted with God, conflicted with others, and conflicted with self.

Admittedly, I am not living at peace with myself lately. There are a lot of things whirling around in my head in regards to my state of being unsettled and the loss I feel in having left "home". Of course, I was amused the other day when I turned to Romans 12:18 and read this: "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." The words "if it is possible" and "as far as it depends on you" struck me as particularly interesting. Since I didn't like the NIV translation of this verse, I did the usual search of a bunch of other translations to see which one made me feel better (yes, I am being cheeky here). The New Century Version put it this way: "Do your best to live at peace with everyone." That sounds nice.

The NIV translation stuck in my head, though, prodding me to take a deeper look. Could it be that peace isn't always possible? Paul's choice of words hint at the notion that peace with everyone may simply not be possible. Most of us have probably felt the sting of broken relationships through the years and still carry with us a lingering sense of disappointment or even regret. Even in the pages of the scriptures, we find stories of those godly men and women who went their separate ways because peace, for them in that moment, was allusive. I've realized that since peace must be dependent upon all parties involved, when someone chooses not to live in peace, there is very little we can do about it. We must simply "wipe the dust from our feet" and move on with love and forgiveness in our hearts.

While I cannot be responsible for the choices of others, I am responsible for my own decisions and actions. I believe there is something in Christ that calls us to work for peace, following his example of humility and selflessness to bring reconciliation. While I cannot resolve world conflicts from Cherry Street, I can strive to live at peace with my neighbor and love those in my proximity, serving them as the Prince of Peace did. There is enough conflict, alienation, and strife found in every square mile of the globe. Christ calls us to a different way of living.

The good news is that "as much as it depends on me" doesn't really apply to the peace we have with God. Fortunately for me, the peace I have with God is his gift -- one I gladly receive and am reminded of as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. The nativity reminds me that his birth equals our new birth. Just as the shepherds who first received the news of the birth of Christ were terrified by the appearance of the angel, I would be terrified with the notion that my peace with God was dependent on my ability to acheive it. Thank God it isn't.

He is our peace!

"For he himself is our peace..." (Ephesians 2:14).