Lesson Four: Prince of Peace
Pastor Philip Piasecki
I am sure when most of us think of the holiday season, we do not think of the word “peace.” It seems like Thanksgiving through New Year has become the most insane time of the year. We all have Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s family functions. We all know how interesting it can get when family members get together for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We all can think of that family member combo that will inevitably result in some sort of argument over family history, politics, or some other nonsense! There is also food to make, houses to clean, decorations to put out, lights to put up, presents to buy, Christmas pictures to take, and Christmas cards to send out. Have I successfully raised your blood pressure yet? How does some peace sound?
One of the names of Jesus is “The Prince of Peace.” That is what Christmas is all about, celebrating the peace that Jesus allows us to have in our lives. We can have peace in relationships, peace with ourselves, peace with our decisions, and the list could go on and on. While all of those things are true and good, they are not even close to as important as one type of peace Jesus brings us.
Ephesians 2:12-14 says, “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.”
Jesus made a way for there to be peace between us and God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This verse tells us that we were once separated from Christ, had no hope, and were without God. Essentially, we were hopeless. There was no peace between Christ and us; there was strife. That was until Christ, through His blood, brought us near to Him and became our peace. Let the craziness of the holidays be a reminder of the peace that we have through Jesus Christ. That peace can extend through to every aspect of our lives. The “Prince of Peace” gave His life for us so that we could have peace between Him and us. I pray that as a church we will focus on the peace that we have through Him and that we would extend that same peace and love to other people. When the world seems crazy around us, rest in the Lord and rest in His peace.