In the little devotional for December 24 in Our Daily Bread, James Banks retells one of my all-time favorite and true Christmas stories. I think it’s worth repeating here—even if you read it last week. It’s just that good! I hope you agree.
On a cold Christmas Eve in Belgium in 1914, the sound of singing floated from the trenches where soldiers were dug in. Strains of the carol “Silent Night” rang out in German and then in English. Soldiers who earlier in the day had been shooting at each other laid down their weapons and emerged from their trenches to shake hands in the “no man’s land” between them, exchanging Christmas greetings and spontaneous gifts from their rations. The ceasefire continued through the next day as the soldiers talked and laughed and even organized soccer matches together.
The Christmas Truce of 1914 that occurred along World War I’s western front offered a brief glimpse of the peace the angels proclaimed on the first Christmas Eve long ago. An angel spoke to terrified shepherds with these reassuring words: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you.” Then a multitude of angels appeared, “praising God and saying ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’”
We still need peace today. Not the kind of temporary or conflict-avoiding peace the world tries to sell us. We need the joyous peace the angels proclaimed that first Christmas Eve. It is both something we receive and something we pursue.
Jon Bloom from Desiring God explains.
The Bible calls Jesus the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah9:6). And the Prince of Peace, the Son of God, said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). How far did the Prince of Peace, the Son of God, go to make peace with us? To the death. Jesus made peace between us and God “by the blood of his cross” (Colossians1:20). When we were still sinners (Romans 5:8).
How far should the sons of God go to make peace? To the death. What does that mean? It depends on the nature of the conflict. But at the very least it means, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you” (Colossians 3:5). It means, “Love one another with brotherly affection” and “outdo one another in showing honor” (Romans 12:10). It means, “Bless those who persecute you,” “live in harmony with one another,” “never be wise in your own sight,” never “repay . . . evil for evil,” and “do what is honorable in the sight of all,” never seeking revenge when wronged, treating our enemies with graciousness and compassion, and, so far as it depends on us, living “peaceably with all” (Romans 12:14-21).
After accepting the incredible personal gift of peace Jesus gives us, our peace with God, it seems to be a crazy kingdom irony that we then have to fight—to strive— so hard for peace around us, for peace among us. But that is what the author of Hebrews insists we do.
This is what it looks like to “strive for peace with everyone” (Hebrews 12:14). Most of the time, when a conflict is brewing, we should assume it is avoidable and do everything to pursue peace. We should assume the best of the other(s) and assume we are misunderstanding something or being tempted by warring passions. We should not enter into conflict as such until we have clear confirmation that it is unavoidable in the biblical sense. And even then, we speak the appropriate truth in the appropriate form of love, whether it be tough or tender (Ephesians 4:15). Peace requires a rigorous, disciplined commitment to being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.
This is hard. Like all forms of spiritual endurance and warfare, we must strive. We must die. But this kind of dying to make peace is blessed. It’s what sons of God do. And God’s reward to his peacemaking sons will be out-of-this-world wonderful.
It will be like that 1914 Christmas Eve miracle.
Someone took that first step into no man’s land that wintry night. Someone extended their hand in friendship to their sworn enemy first.
I’d like to think that “someone” was a son of God, a humble peacemaker who had come to personally know the peace of God through the redemptive work of Jesus, the Prince of peace. So on that lonely, war ravaged field, he remembered the message of the angelic hosts. He remembered he was a peacemaker. He had peace from God to share.
In the midst of a broken, painful, miserable situation, even for an only brief season, there was peace.
May we find—and create—those precious moments of peace in our families, in our neighborhoods, in our work places, and in our church.
After all, we know the Prince of Peace.
In fact, we are His sons and daughters.
May your new year be filled with His incomprehensible and overwhelming peace.
—Eileen Hill
*Please be advised that this blog represents the views, opinions and beliefs of the writer and does not necessarily reflect those of our church leadership or denominational affiliation.