“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given… and his name shall be called… the Prince of Peace… he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him…and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
Isaiah
Tonight, as I sit inside my house, warm and full, surrounded by good things, I cannot help but wonder why I feel the peace that I do. The world outside knows no peace. I have done no deeds nor lived a life worthy of peace. Yet, I feel no guilt while drinking in this contentment that I neither created nor earned.
The peace that I claim as mine own, I did not earn—it was a gift. I did not seek this gift—it sought me. I did not want it—it wanted me. Through the years, I have hidden myself away, only to be found again.
From the babe in a manger to the broken and bloody lifeless form taken from a cross, the life of Christ is God’s gift to me. It teaches me to be satisfied with little, to live without fear, to serve without reward, and to lay down my life for others though despised and lightly esteemed.
He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. God’s word was shouted by angels in Bethlehem long ago. Their voice is not diminished, the truth they told of peace and goodwill is still real.
“Who has believed our report?” the prophet asks. In His Son, God has given you all things that pertain to life and godliness. It was delivered to a manger but lives everywhere there is a heart that seeks. Have you heard how simple peace is? Seek, ask, knock—God has already answered with peace and goodwill just for you.
Do you hear what I hear?
Maranatha
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