The Peacemaker

"Peace on earth." It's a phrase we love and something we're constantly seeking. Isaiah 9:6 actually spoke it 700 years before as a promise that was fulfilled in Jesus' birth. The concept is Shalom. Shalom isn't just the absence of conflict; it's flourishing. Jesus is the Prince of Shalom. Jesus won't just bring a truce; He ushers in flourishing for our lives.

God wants to lead you into peace. He proclaims it constantly as we live in the absence of place. Shalom is the standard of God and the rule of eternity. Yet, tragedy is our reality. Life is disintegrating around us every day. Sin pulls apart, but God's plan is to put things back together.

Peace was broken with God in the garden through our rebellion. Then, we broke shalom with each other and the world. The whole earth is groaning for the shalom of God.

God's solution isn't a peace plan that we have to carry out; it's a peacemaker. His name is Jesus. He wants to make peace with us. Jesus is the olive branch from Heaven. He gave Noah an olive branch and a path back to shalom because He desires for us to be back with Him.

In order to receive this peace, you have to start with believing that Jesus is real. God doesn't despise our investigation; rather, He welcomes it because He knows that at the bottom of our question is the bedrock of the God who was, and is, and is to come. The deeper you dig, the more you discover Jesus. What you do with Him after you discover Him; that is the most important thing you'll do in life.

The angels coming to announce to us today this Jesus that was being born in Bethlehem was not just another baby, He is Christ the Lord. A choir of angels sang. The glory of God shown around. They are announcing "Glory in the highest and peace on earth on whom His favor rests." Shalom has returned to the world, with God, and with others.

Inside every person is a longing for Shalom. Deep down, we are asking if it's even possible to have peace. Yet, God has already offered it through Jesus.

In the Song of Zechariah, before Jesus was born, he said that He would guide our feet in peace. Isaiah 53 describes the work of the Prince of Peace: He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and the chastisement that brought our peace fell on Him. His scourging is what heals us. The Peace of Peace knelt down under an olive tree in an olive grove and prayed, "not my will, but your will be done." Jesus offered Himself as the olive branch.

Jesus made peace with God. He died for us. We have been justified through faith and have peace.

Jesus made peace with others. Jesus is our peace. He has made both sides one and taken down the wall of division.

The only place where there has ever been true peace is in the manger where Jesus lay as a baby. It's only in Him that we can have peace. He is the hope of peace that never ends.