A Hope Eternal - Advent Devotional預覽

“Peace on earth, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14). This is one of the most famous Christmas lines. But there are lots of different kinds of peace. What specifically did the angels mean when they declared “peace”? Did they mean peace of mind? Peace in our hearts? Peace as an antidote to the anxiety or unfulfillment we may feel? Is that what Jesus came to save us from? Did He come to rescue us from enslaving habits? Compulsive eating disorders? Bondage to pornography? Uncontrollable anger? Fear (of all sorts)? Perhaps the peace was the cessation of hostilities between countries or peace between family members that have an adversarial relationship. Are these the types of things that Jesus rescues us from?

According to the New Testament, the peace that comes with Christmas is peace between God and us. But someone may say, "What are you talking about? I believe in God. I was never at odds with Him." That may be true, but according to the Bible, God interprets our sin as an act of aggression. Put simply, our fallen, sinful minds are “hostile to God” (Rom 8:7). The apostle tells us that “by nature” we are "objects of wrath” (Eph 2:3). Similarly, Col 1:21 states that in our fallen condition we were “alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds…” Whether we knew it or not, we were at war with the God of the universe. But the good news of Christmas is not, in the first instance, a report of a baby in a feeding trough (manger). Rather, the good news of Christmas is that God unilaterally ended the hostilities between Himself and us. He stepped into history and declared a ceasefire. Jesus Christ brought peace to a world at war—at war with God. That is the good news of great joy that is Christmas! The war has ended, and Jesus has come to save us from the penalty of our sins.

Prayer

Oh, God of all the universe, You did for us what we could not do for ourselves. You sent Your Son into history to rescue us before we even knew there was a problem. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). Make Your glory known to us this Advent season. Let us see the beauty and wonder of Jesus Christ. Allow us to see the magnificence of the peace that he brings—peace that ended the war between us. Thank you for showing us such lavish mercy. We pray this with gratitude. Amen.

Jeffrey Anderson, D.Min., Ph.D., serves as an assistant professor of Christian Theology for the Regent University School of Divinity.