God Our Peace
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a powerful story about peace.
Let me tell you a strange, but wonderful event that occurred along the Western Front of World War I in 1914.* It was Christmas-time, and French and German soldiers faced each other in opposite trenches. While a light snow covered the battlefield, a young Frenchman leaped out of his trench and began singing a French Christmas Carol. The Germans were awestruck, and they laid aside their weapons in momentary disbelief. Then a young German soldier climbed out of his trench and sang a German Christmas Carol. A strange serenity fell over the battlefield that afternoon. For not a shot was fired. For the rest of that day, a calm and gentle peace prevailed over the scene. The bloody World War I, just for a day, had stopped. It was a truce, of sorts.
Why? Well, on that day, the heralding of a greater Peace Treaty rang across the battlefield. The war between heaven and earth, God and man had ended with the birth of Jesus Christ. As it says in the book of Ephesians, no longer was there enmity between God and man. The wall of hostility had crumbled. And the beautiful thing was this: it wasn’t just for a day. This war wasn’t simply suspended. When Christ entered history, He did not come waving a white flag.
No, when the angels sang “Peace on earth,” they were happily announcing an armistice. This was V-Day. Christ, our Prince of Peace was God’s way of announcing the close to a heart-wrenching war; a war of rebellion that had begun when man first turned his back on God in the Garden of Eden. It was a war that, for millennia, had no end in sight until God intervened, sending Jesus as His peace treaty. And with His birth, Jesus invaded enemy territory to deal with sin and lay claim to what was rightfully His: the hearts and souls of humans. Christ’s battle cry told men that He had come to set them free. And sure enough, decades later, after His birth, Jesus would sign the peace treaty with His own blood.
And so, as Easter approaches, think of it as V-Day! Think of it as Armistice Day. And just like freed men on the day of victory, we should, as it were, joyously spill out onto the streets, cheering and laughing, and singing happy hallelujahs with a pump-your-fist-in-the-air, jump up and down, throw-your-head-back and sing out loud, “Glory to God in the highest! Christ is our peace.” And basically, this is what it means when we talk about the peace of Christ. We are not talking about a warm, fuzzy feeling in our hearts. The peace of Christ means we are free; it means we have access to God who is now our Father. There is not only “no more war;” amazingly, we’ve been given the victory, all because of Christ. And that should humble the proudest of hearts.
One of the sweetest names God gives Himself is Jehovah Shalom, God is our peace. Again, it’s not so much a feeling but a declaration that the war is over. He has turned His enemies – that’s formerly us – He has turned His enemies into friends. What a great name, Jehovah Shalom. And there are many other names of God that are just as powerful and beautiful. So, contact me today at joniandfriends.org/radio and ask for your free booklet, “The Names of God.” Again, that’s joniandfriends.org/radio. And celebrate today your freedom in Christ. Get ready to celebrate Armistice Day on Easter all because God provided the peace: The Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.
*Correction: The original broadcast erroneously stated the Christmas Truce occurred during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. The above transcript has been revised to reflect the correct details.
© Joni and Friends
