By Mark Roberts @ http://www.markdroberts.com/A few days ago we remembered the glorious proclamation of the angels: "Peace on earth!" It's a wonderful thought, to be sure. Yet as we look at our world today, we might wonder if "Peace on earth" is one of those empty religious slogans that belongs on tacky religious posters but has little to do with the real world. If the birth of Jesus was bringing peace on earth, where is that peace?
Christians affirm, not only that Jesus brings peace, but that, in some way, He is peace. This is what the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 2:14: "For he is our peace." Reading this out of context, one might be inclined to psychologize it: "Jesus gives us peace in our hearts." Others might limit the peace of Jesus to the spiritual realm: "Jesus gives us peace with God." But, as true and wonderful as these statements might be, they're not what Paul means in Ephesians 2. Rather, the specific context is a discussion of the way in which Christ's death brings unity between Jews and Gentiles. The implication is that, through His death, Jesus brought peace, not only in human hearts, and not only between humans and God, but also among human beings. There is a social, one might even say, a political dimension to the peace of Christ.
Thus, those of us who accept the biblical view of reality are right to have a hope for peace. We believe that the death of Jesus eradicated the root cause of strife and conflict, namely, human sin. Thus peace in multiple dimensions has been secured through Christ. That's the good news.
The bad news is that the fullness of peace won't be experienced until God chooses to make all things new. No matter how hard we try, we won't be able to forge a lasting, pervasive peace until Christ returns. There is an essentially eschatological dimension to Christian peace, one that cannot be ignored.
So the angelic proclamation of "Peace on earth" states what God is doing through Jesus, but not what will be experienced anytime soon. The death of Jesus did undo that which has broken our world, but the final restoration is yet to come:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a beautiful bride prepared for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever." (Rev 21:1-4).
In the meanwhile, we are blessed to experience peace with God, peace in our hearts, and peace among people, however imperfectly. Moreover, we are called to be peacemakers in the world. Christians don't simply sit around and hope for peace on New Year's Eve and then get back to business. Rather, we accept peacemaking as our business, even though we realize that our efforts will never be fully successful.
So, may You have Happy New Year, in which you experience God's peace and live it out whereever you can make a difference.
If you're looking for a more extensive discussion of peace from a Christian perspective, you might check out my series: Seeking the Peace of Christ: Christianity and Peacemaking.
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