Christmas has been celebrated around the world for nearly two millennia. The celebration of Christmas as a holiday began in the early 4th century when the church in Rome started observing December 25th as the birth of Jesus (source: www.history.com, www.britannica.com by Copilot).
Christmas is special in many ways and has been celebrated as both a sacred religious holiday and a secular cultural practice (tradition). In many Christian denominations, the celebration of Christmas is preceded by Advent, a season or time of expectant waiting and preparation for the birth of Jesus Christ, which begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and lasts until Christmas Eve (December 24th).
While this season is supposedly filled with hope, peace, joy, and love, where we can gather with family, friends, and loved ones, in reality, Christmas might not be “the most wonderful time of the year” for some or many (due to unfortunate events, such as sickness and passing of loved ones).
As we reflect upon the meaning of Christmas, we can go back to the Scripture. There are many Bible verses, both in the Old and New Testaments, that point to the coming of Messiah.
Here, I would like to focus on a particular verse from the Gospel of Luke:
Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.
Luke 2:14
We’re told that an angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds (which were considered humble and lowly in the society), bringing them “good news that will cause great joy for all the people” of the birth of a Savior, the long awaited Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Through this account we can learn that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone, regardless of social status—this message of hope and salvation is meant for all, from the humblest to the highest.
Shepherds also play an important role in the Old Testament, where the prophecies often depicted the Messiah as a shepherd, caring for His flock. And Jesus Himself is often referred to as the “Good Shepherd” who would lay down His life for His sheep. The presence of shepherds at Christ’s birth foreshadowed this aspect of His ministry.
Now, Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecies, specifically recorded in Isaiah 9:6, where He is called “Prince of Peace” (alongside the other attributes: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father).
Peace is and has always been what this world needs: a state of serenity and security—freedom from war, conflict, or disturbance—where everyone can live in harmony. This is, of course, a perfect or ideal world that is far from our reality today.
But Jesus already knows that “in this world we will have tribulation (trials and sorrows)” (John 16:33), therefore He offers us this comforting assurance, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27).
Peace is what we long for as we live in this fallen and broken world, and the true peace is found in Jesus.
Because of Jesus and what He has done, we may have a “threefold” peace in life: peace with God, peace within our hearts, and peace with one another.
Peace with God
As we put our faith in the Son of God, we are made right with God (Romans 5:1, Romans 3:22). Putting our faith in Jesus means acknowledging that we are sinners [in need of salvation] and believing that He died [to rescue us from sin and death] and rose again [to reign forever as Lord and King, triumphant over death, the final enemy].
Jesus’ sacrifice [is the only one that] satisfied God’s wrath against sin, therefore we no longer need to sacrifice animals or perform any sacrificial acts in order to earn God’s favor. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God sufficiently provided by God the Father to reconcile us to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). We simply need to humbly believe and receive this divine gift.
As we have been made right with God, we can now have a sweet fellowship and enjoy this love relationship with Him forever as we have become the children of God (John 1:12).
Peace within our hearts
There is peace in knowing that our sins are forgiven. There is peace in knowing that we are unconditionally loved by the Creator of the universe, who created us in His image. There is peace in knowing that our life has meaning and purpose. All these are made possible through Christ Jesus—our Rescuer, Redeemer, Mediator, and Intercessor (John 3:17, Colossians 1:12-14, 1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 7:25)—as we put our faith in Him.
Therefore, we can confidently say that we no longer live under condemnation [that brought us punishment due to our disobedience to the law], as it is written, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1).
In Jesus Christ, our minds are renewed by the Word of God and our hearts are filled with [the knowledge-surpassing] peace. This means that in all circumstances of life [bright days, dark nights, high mountains, low valleys], we can rejoice in the Lord of our salvation and present our requests to Him in prayer and thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6-7). His peace is a blessed assurance that the Lord is near and with us.
Peace with one another
Having peace with God and peace in our hearts, we can then live in peace with each other—starting with those who are closest to us. Sadly, in reality, it is often most challenging to live peacefully with those who are near, where relationships are broken due to lack of respect, appreciation, communication, and/or trust. This happens from a small scale (such as within a family) to a large scale (such as between neighboring countries).
Scripture tells us the root of every conflict in the world: “For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.” (James 3:16). Jealousy (envy) and selfish ambition (selfishness) are the problem—and I believe it is getting worse now with the advance in information technology where it is much easier to fall into the trap of a self-seeking attitude that keeps us making endless comparison with others (i.e., obsessive comparison disorder). We, humans, have constantly struggled with a pride issue.
Again, we need Jesus, the Prince of Peace, to cure this spiritual “disease” [caused by sin] in us. Healing and transformation must happen from within. What should we learn from the humbled Christ, as revealed in Scripture?
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8).
Following Christ’s example leads us to fulfill His command to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9, Romans 12:18) as we reflect the very character of the One we worship and adore.
Conclusions: Living with peace in a troublesome world
Back to the above key verse (Luke 2:14), we can learn a couple of important principles:
It is only when we give GLORY to God in the highest that we can truly experience PEACE on earth
God does not actually need “more” glory as He is the greatest of all and perfect already. But we [sinners] do need to give Him [the Holy One] glory. In other words, giving glory to God is for our good.
We give glory to God when we give our lives to Him—when everything that we say, think, and do revolves around and points out to Him. That’s why Jesus commanded His disciples to “seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness above all else.” (Matthew 6:33).
Instead of peace, problems would surely happen when/if we seek the glory for ourselves. It is really a question of “Who is the Lord in our lives?” or “Who sits on the throne of our hearts?” and our answers to this shall determine whether we can live with peace [restfully] or worry [restlessly].
God receives GLORY the most when we live in His PEACE
Just as a father receives the highest honor when his children live in harmony, God receives the highest glory when we live in peace with one another.
Consider this a well-known quote by John Piper, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” When we are content in Him, when we acknowledge Him [as the source of all the good things we have received] with humility, when we stop comparing our blessings or achievements with others’, God will be most glorified [honored and pleased].
Living in God’s peace will enable us to take delight in Him and receive His blessings with complete joy and thanksgiving (Psalm 37:4). And, of course, living in harmony with each other is a sure way to “attract” divine favor into our lives! (Psalm 133:1-3).
As we prepare our hearts for the new year, may we know that PEACE is the foundation of a blessed and joyous life. This peace is not something that the world can offer, so we won’t find it in people, place, pleasure, nor power. True peace can only be found in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.
Let us start the new year with a renewed commitment to live a life that honors the Lord—to seek first His kingdom and righteousness—through [daily engagement with] His Word and His Spirit.
I pray that in the midst of our busy and noisy world today, we may find rest in Jesus (Matthew 28:11-30) and renew our strength as we wait on Him (Isaiah 40:31).
Thank God for 2024 and Happy New Year 2025!
This article was written in Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada (December 30, 2024 – January 1, 2025).
The featured image was originally designed by the author.
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