We Can Have Peace on Earth

Luke 4:18 

Jesus Christ can bring peace into this un-peaceful world.

Alarmed by the possibility of a nuclear war, a wealthy retired couple decided to move to a remote group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean. They were large enough to provide a comfortable life but small enough to be unimportant. English rule made the government stable and the culture familiar. It was not long after they moved to the Falkland Islands that, to everyone's surprise, war erupted there.
 
We search for peace but there is no peace on earth today. Wars, terrorist attacks, rioting... peace is lacking between nations; between races; it’s lacking in homes and in hearts. It’s obvious that our world needs peace.

Many of the prophecies of the birth of Christ use the word peace.

He is the "Prince of Peace"

Zechariah says, "He will proclaim peace to the nations..." (9:10)

Micah adds, "He will be their peace" (5:4-5)

But our world has seen very little peace because it has not embraced Jesus Christ. Since the signing of the Peace of Westphalia (1648) there have been more than last 300 wars in Europe alone. There is not a single generation of Americans who have not known war. Most have known multiple wars.

Into this brawling, war-torn world, God sent His personal envoy of "peace on earth, good will toward men."

Peace is more than the mere absence of war. It has its roots in the Old Testament concept of shalom. It means wholeness, completeness, well-being, and prosperity. The lack of shalom comes from such sources as poverty, greed, the lust for power and spiritual emptiness. Into this turmoil we must bring the light of Christ by waging peace.

We wage peace when we feed the hungry, clothe the naked and befriend the lonely. (Matthew 25:44-46)

We wage peace when we stand for justice. (Isaiah 1:17) We wage peace whenever we share the love of Jesus with others. (John 13:34-35)

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, 

because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.  

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and 

recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 

 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” 

Luke 4:18

see also:

We Can Have Peace with God

We Can Have Peace in our Relationships

 

We Can Have Peace in Our Relationships

Colossians 3:15

Jesus Christ can us move us from division to community.

People find it hard to live in harmony & peace with one another. We fight and we bicker. We criticize and tear each other down. Our courts are filled with people who can't get along. We encounter strife at work, at home and, even, at church. We compete for position, for attention, and for material gain. It was not long before Adam and Eve turned on each other. Jealousy drove Cain to kill his brother and drove Joseph's brothers to sell him into slavery. Lust drove David to take the wife of one of his mighty men. And so it goes.

In the New Testament we read repeatedly of enmity between the Jews and non-Jews. Ethnic and racial strife is as old as the Tower of Babel and is as fresh as the morning news.

There is good news. God has sent us the Prince of Peace. “Jesus himself is our peace, who has made the two one [Jews and non-Jews] and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14).

The Bible teaches, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

In a world filled with strife the church must be an oasis of peace. We should both examples and agents of reconciliation. After all, we are carrying out His ministry of reconciliation as His ambassadors.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
since as members of one body you were called to peace.
Colossians 3:15

see also: 

We Can Have Peace with God 

We Can Have Peace on Earth