Pinpricks of light dotted the black, moonless sky. The pungent smell of wet wool, manure, and sweat hung in the air as the dark restless shapes of beast and man shifted like shadows on the hillside. Only an occasional “baa,” or clacking of hoofs on stone, broke the silence of the night.
Then brilliant, dazzling light from above flooded the hillside. The men fell flat on the ground and shielded their eyes.
Squinting, they peeked out at the myriads of beautiful, bright figures floating above.
The company of heavenly host sang out, “Glory to God, and peace on earth to those on whom his favor rests.”
Wait a minute…did they say peace? What “peace” were they talking about?
Wars rage on. Man’s restless heart continues to strive for more—never satisfied, never settled, never able to achieve lasting peace.
But that night, peace did indeed come to the earth.
Not a peace we can conjure up by ourselves, but a peace we can only receive.
Thousands of years ago, in a garden far away, Adam and Eve had all the peace they needed in communion with our Heavenly Father. But they chose to rebel and do their own thing instead—as we continue to do—causing a rift between us and God. When we lost our connection with God, we lost our peace.
Fortunately for us, our gracious God came to Bethlehem that night to bring us—his lost sheep—back.
Jesus came to make peace between us and God, opening the way for our relationship with our Heavenly Father to be restored, and with that, our source of peace.
On this second week of Advent, we remember the peace God provided us through his Son, the Prince of Peace—Jesus.
The Never Ending Gifts 
Leave a Reply