Advent, the anticipation of ‘Peace’ in a world without peace, and so we light the fourth candle of Advent, the candle of PEACE.
As I reflect on the last couple of years, I am reminded of how rare a commodity ‘peace’ is. The pandemic left us feeling disconnected and divided, there is the ongoing war in Ukraine and unrest in Iran, domestic abuse, mental health, illness, poverty, all leave us longing for peace.
But what is peace?
The world interprets peace as life without troubles or anxiety, or a world where everyone just gets along and is at rest. The problem is, because of sin, we will never have a world like that nor experience that kind of peace.
So, why light the candle of peace? Peace is not the absence of trouble in our lives but the absence of anxiety in spite of troubles. From a worldly perspective, peace means the cessation of trouble in our lives, but from God’s perspective, it is the cessation of anxiety in spite of our troubles.
| God’s peace is different to that of the world. Jesus told us, “Peace I leave with you; My Peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). The picture we have is of a harbour in the middle of a stormy sea. Outside the harbour the storm rages. Furious and violent waves crash upon one another. The wind howls and screams, whipping up froth from the angry ocean. Thunder roars and lightning flashes, but inside the harbour walls, the water is calm, the boats are at rest, there is peace. God’s arms are like the harbour walls, They take the full brunt of the storm, sheltering those inside from the wind and waves. Those who enter into the safety of His arms are at peace.
A hint to this peace is found in the Prophet Isaiah’s prophecy, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders, and He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Have you noticed that each name is proceeded by a superlative except for the last one. Instead of being called ‘the King (the appropriate superlative) of Peace’, He shall be called ‘the Prince of Peace. A prince is less than a king! Why was Jesus not called King of Peace? A friend suggests that this is because Jesus’ work would not be fully completed during His life on earth. His life on earth would be a foretaste and hint at what was yet to come. Jesus would remove hostility that separated us from God and from one another (Ephesians 2:14; 2Corinthians 5:18-21), but this work would be ongoing because of the prevailing power of sin. It will only be complete at His return when He comes back in glory as KING of kings then we would experience the fullness of His promise of real Peace! At Advent we don’t just celebrate peace, we celebrate the ongoing work of peace through Jesus in our world right now, and also the promise of real peace we will experience at His return. Below is a video commercial based on the real events of Christmas 1914, in the trenches of WW1 that capture and illustrate the essence of God’s peace in the middle of humanities greatest struggles. Excuse the commercial and enjoy the message ~ Merry Christmas! |
