“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” Luke 2:14
Whatever happened to Christmas? According to the angels, it’s supposed to be a time of peace on earth and good will toward those who are living in God’s favor. But it often doesn’t feel that way. Such was the case for a little girl whose story I read about.
According to the story, it was Christmas Eve. It had been a day full of incidents, some of them unpleasant. For instance, her father seemed to be overly stressed by a host of worries. Her mom wasn’t doing much better. She was so full of anxiety that she reached the breaking point several times throughout the day. Wherever this little girl went, she seemed to be in the way.
Finally, she was hustled to bed. As she knelt by her bed to pray the Lord’s prayer, she offered her updated version of it in light of the day’s stresses. “Forgive us our Chrismases as we forgive those who Christmas against us.”
If we were honest, we’ve all probably had moments when we felt like we had been Christmased against. Although we may sing “Joy to the World,” Christmas has become such a hassle for us that sometimes it’s anything but joyful. It’s like the clerk at a department store who was asked by a customer if she was ready for Christmas. Her response was telling. “I’m ready alright – ready for it to be over.”
Unfortunately, the problem has to do with more than just our frantic pace. For some people Christmas is a threat. Overspending puts the family budget on a perilous path toward disaster. For others Christmas is a time of desperate loneliness. It’s a known fact that depression is higher during the holidays than at any other time of the year. When you put all of this together, it’s tempting to want to join Scrooge in giving a big “bah, humbug” to it all.
In light of this, it would do us well to revisit the message of the angels on the night Jesus was born. “Glory to God in the highest” they sang, “and peace on earth….” Peace on earth. What a glorious thought! Of course, when we speak of peace, we usually only mean an absence of outward conflict – a sort of cease fire whether we’re talking about nations or family relationships. As long as everybody kind of gets along, we say that things are at peace.
But that’s not what God thinks nor is that what the angels had in mind as they shared their message. The kind of peace God announced to the shepherd was very different. The word peace itself means an absence or end of strife, an untroubled, undisturbed well-being, and a delivery and freedom from all the distresses that are experienced as a result of sin.
In short, the message of peace is a complete restoration of God’s original intent for humanity that they live at peace with Him and with each other – a return to Eden you might say. That’s what God’s after. He wants to do more than simply call a cease fire where we all we do is tolerate each other. He’s looking for reconciliation. He wants those who are at odds to live in true harmony with each other, because they are in true harmony with Him.
Imagine that for a moment. Imagine families who could admit their mistakes, who are quick to offer forgiveness, and who want more than anything else to be right with one another. Imagine churches whose members refuse to stir up trouble, who resolve conflict according to biblical teaching, and who maintain fellowship with one another despite their differences. Imagine nations that respect the traditions and values of other nations, that do not use their power to destroy one another, but instead unite together to overcome the injustices and depravation of others.
That’s what God was announcing to the shepherds that night. God was in the process of restoring the earth to the way it was always intended to be. When Jesus grew up, He taught His followers to pray for this very thing. “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It was a prayer for peace.
Certainly, the ultimate fulfillment of this won’t be realized until Christ comes to bring God’s redemptive work to a completion. Until that time, the message of the angels reveals what God’s purpose is – peace. This raises the all-important question of how. How does such a peace come about?
The response of the shepherds to the angels’ message helps to answer this question. Yes, God was offering peace on earth, but there was a condition. Unfortunately, the authorized version of this text doesn’t make that very clear. “Peace on earth, good will toward men.” That’s how many of us memorized it.
But a more precise translation reveals a very important truth we can’t afford to miss. Here’s how the NIV puts it: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” Did you notice the difference? It’s not just a general message of good will to all regardless of what they do with the message. Rather it’s a reminder that only those who have God’s favor in their lives experience God’s peace. And how do you obtain God’s favor? According to the gospel, that comes when people yield their lives to Christ as their forgiver and leader. Only they have full access to the amazing peace God was offering.
So to have peace means that we must respond properly to God’s message. Part of that is the initial acceptance of Christ. There is no true peace within or peace with others outside of peace with God. But it’s more than that. We must also do the things that bring about peace. That has to do with acting in peaceful ways toward others and promoting the cause of peace which turns people toward Christ, the Prince of Peace.
The bottom line is this. When God sends His invitation of peace through the One born in Bethlehem, you have to respond to it in order to experience it. The shepherds immediately went to find the Christ child. After they found Him, they left glorifying and praising God as a result. At that moment, peace on earth was a reality in their hearts, and so it can be for us.
