Real Hope: Peaceনমুনা

Grace and Peace

On Christmas Eve in the year 1914, an amazing thing happened. Cold and wet and covered in mud, there was little hope in the trenches. Then the British troops realized the Germans were singing Christmas carols. A voice sounded out from the German side, "Come, meet us halfway…".

For a time on that Christmas Eve, war and hate were put aside. There were handshakes, soldiers traded tobacco and wine, and they sang songs together celebrating the birth of Christ. At least for a time, there was no place for anything other than peace.

Peace is defined as an absence of conflict. That peace did not last, and the soldiers went back to fighting the war. But God’s peace is eternal. We can find His peace by knowing who He is and what He has done. We can find His peace through living in His Word, by opening our hearts to the presence of Jesus, singing songs, and praising Him just as the soldiers did in World War I.

In Luke 2, we read that the angels appeared to the shepherds and announced the birth of Christ. In this baby was the promise of lasting peace. At the end of the song, A Gaelic Blessing written by John Rutter, we read the words: "Deep peace of Christ the light of the world to you / Deep peace of Christ to you".

It is this deep, lasting peace we long for; peace that works against the insecurities and turmoil of life. "My peace, I leave with you", Jesus tells us in John 14:27. This is the absolute peace of knowing the God who holds us safe and never changes.

Written by CHRIS PARFOOT