Peace on earth?
The terrible shootings at the Army Public School in Peshawar, Pakistan on Tuesday morning remind us that ‘peace on earth’ seems to be just as far away as ever. Is it even possible? And yet we all have a longing for peace. Even those who fight do so because they want to bring about their own vision of peace. I don’t believe anyone wants to be fighting forever. We just don’t seem able to achieve peace for very long.
The centenary of the famous Christmas Truce in the First World War shows us that we can achieve peace, if only for a time. Those same soldiers sadly took up arms again, and the truce was not repeated in the following years of the war. Nevertheless, it is worth striving for the peace that is possible, and for as long as possible. This Christmas in particular would be a good time for us to be peace-makers in some of our relationships.
Still, ‘peace on earth’ seems a long way off. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible or that it isn’t coming. Indeed, true and lasting peace will finally come to this earth when the king of peace, Jesus Christ, returns to it. And each one who has laid down their arms and made peace with God will enjoy that universal and unending peace. It is Christ himself who has made it possible, “making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:20, NIV), enduring the worst hostility imaginable in order to bring us peace. May the peace of God – and the God of peace – be yours this Christmas time.