Family Tree 12.21.20

Family Tree Devotional Series - Week 4 – Peace - Monday – Pastor Chris
The Peace of Christmas
Scripture Reading — Ephesians 2:12-18 (ESV)

“Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father."

Growing up the grandson of a World War I veteran, the son of a World War II veteran, my knowledge of WWI and II is quite profound. One of the most famous Christmas stories I’ve ever read about was the Christmas Day Truce of World War I. On Christmas Day in 1914, some German soldiers climbed out of their foxholes unarmed on the Western Front of the war and approached the British lines calling out, “Merry Christmas!”

After realizing it was not a trick, the British soldiers climbed out of their foxholes and shook hands with their enemy. In many places, they began to sing Christmas carols, exchange cigarettes, and food. Some even played a game of football (soccer). A quote from a German Lieutenant at the truce reads, “Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as friends for a time.” The next day the soldiers loaded their guns again and went back to killing each other.

Since Adam and Eve sinned, God and humanity had been hostile. Humanity had rejected God and decided there was a better way. In Isaiah 9:6, God announced that a child would be born the Prince of Peace. The child would be the one to restore the peace between God and humanity. On the night Jesus was born, the angel appeared to the shepherds in the Bethlehem field, saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill towards men.”. In essence, God came out of His foxhole and approached humanity, saying, “Merry Christmas!” The difference was that this was not to be a temporary cease-fire. God was trying to establish genuine peace between us.

Ephesians 2 describes how God was trying to establish real peace with us. Verse 17 summarizes it, “And He (Jesus) came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.” No matter how far away from God you are, God wants to establish peace with you. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we can have that peace that surpasses understanding, even while the world around us is at war.