This morning, at our church, our Christmas Beacon came out. This is the piece I wrote for it:
Who is This Prince of Peace?
By Jaquelle Crowe
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6 is a familiar verse to many of us. We may have read it a dozen or more times, but how many times have we sat down and and really thought through this? How many times have we asked ourselves, Who is this Prince of Peace? In a world torn apart by war, hate, anger, fear and confusion how can Jesus be our Prince of Peace? As Christmas swiftly approaches, we need to ask ourselves what even is peace?
Have you ever heard the Hebrew word, shalom? It means peace, but more specifically: completeness, wholeness. Many people think of peace only as rest from war. Some people think of peace as an airy-fairy thing that you just magically get. But peace, true peace, is something much different.
1 Corinthians 14:33 says, “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.” How can God be of peace when our world is a confused jumble? Yet this is where the truth of the matter lies. True peace is not a matter of circumstances. Romans 14:17 says, “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way.” If we can receive peace “at all times in every way,” how can peace come only when things are going well? But that's just it! Peace isn't what we get just when we're happy and healthy. If the Lord grants us true peace, we should be complete and whole all the time. When we're sick, when we're well, when we're sad, when we're angry, when we're scared, and all those times in between, we can be peaceful.
So as Christmas approaches, and all the stress that comes with it, can we be peaceful? Can we have peace, as we remember the birth of our Prince of Peace? Let's not let circumstances determine our peace, but let's ask our Lord of Peace to grant us true peace.
“And the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23