Jesus’ peace is our comfort and joy. He is the Prince of Peace, promised long ago by the ancient prophet Isaiah:

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” (Isaiah 9:6-7 NLT).

On the night of his birth, angels gloriously proclaimed that the promise was fulfilled, the Prince of Peace had come: “Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased’ ” (Luke 2:13-14 NLT).

God’s peace, gifted at Christmastime, is cause for great celebration. Peace, as Jesus gives, draws our attention to that which God intended. The word peace refers to the absence of conflict, pointing to the presence of something better in its place. The Hebrew word for peace is the familiar word shalom, which means complete or whole.

In the Old Testament, the people of Israel were called to usher in the shalom, peace, that God intended. But king after king failed. It was always the purpose of God that his creation would be complete, that it would be whole. According to the Old Testament prophets, the shalom to come was an essential characteristic of the Messiah’s kingdom, introducing salvation through Christ (see Ephesians 2:17).

Said another way, shalom means to reconcile and heal a broken relationship. When rival kingdoms would make shalom in the Bible, it didn’t mean that they were only to stop fighting—it meant that they were to start working together for each other’s benefit. This state of shalom is what Israel’s kings were supposed to cultivate, but it rarely happened. This is why the prophet Isaiah looked forward to a future king, a “Prince of Shalom.” He would bring shalom that would know no end, made available when God made a covenant of enduring shalom with his people. God would make right all the wrongs and heal all that had been broken.

This describes the heart of the New Testament Christian message called the “gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15). The Greek word for peace is eirene (pronounced eye-ray-nay). Jesus’ birth in the New Testament was announced as the arrival of eirene. He came to offer his peace to others, peace as truly intended by God the Father. Jesus said to his followers, “My peace I give you” (John 14:27). Jesus made peace, eirene, between messed up humans and God when he died and rose from the dead. He restored to wholeness the broken relationship between humans and their Creator. This is why the Apostle Paul said Jesus is our eirene, peace (see Ephesians 2:14).

Jesus was the whole, complete human that we were made to be, but failed to be. His peace is life. In Romans 8:5-6, Paul encourages us to know the life and peace (eirene) that is only found in Jesus. This is the gift presented to the world when God sent Jesus to be born. Those who love Jesus are reminded at Christmastime that we are to do our part to create peace. Paul instructed local churches to keep their unity through the bond of peace. This requires humility, patience and bearing with others in love. Becoming people of peace means participating in the life of Jesus who reconciled all things in heaven and earth, restoring peace through his death and Resurrection.

Peace takes a lot of work because it is not just the absence of conflict. True peace requires taking what is broken and restoring it to wholeness, whether it’s in our lives, our relationships or our world. God wants humanity to flourish in him, by him and through him.

This is the purpose of God by his design, redemption through Christ, the restoration of what was lost in the Fall—shalom, eirene, everlasting peace. This Christmas, let us join the heavenly hosts and countless others since who have proclaimed, “Glory to God in the highest! Peace in my heart and peace on earth!”

COMMISSIONER LEE GRAVES is the territorial commander of the Canada and Bermuda Territory.

Illustration: PhotoGranary/stock.Adobe.com

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