Where’s the Peace?

The message of the angels to the shepherds was, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14 NKJV). Peace on earth. When we look at all the wars and conflicts in the world today, we wonder where the peace is.

But a better translation of the angels’ statement would be, “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth among men with whom God is well pleased.” When our lives are well pleasing to God, we’ll have peace. But before we can have the peace of God, we must have peace with God.

If we don’t believe in Jesus, then we are, effectively, enemies of God. We’re at war with God. That comes as a shock to some people. They might say, “I believe in the man upstairs, in the good Lord.” But they’re still at war with God because their sin separates them from Him.

I remember when I first heard Jesus’s words, “He who is not with Me is against Me” (Matthew 12:30 NKJV). As a nonbeliever, I looked around at the Christians in the meeting I was attending on my high school campus and thought, “Well, I’m not one of them. Does that mean I’m against Him?”

I didn’t want to be at war with God.

That was the day I believed in Jesus. I remember feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. And for the first time in my life, I found the peace that God promises for each of us.

Jesus came to give us life in all its fullness. He said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 NKJV). He has the meaning of life. You can live life to its fullest in a relationship with Jesus Christ.