Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. Luke 2:14 (NIV)

Peace is a word highly connected with Christmas. It’s one of the four themes of Advent. It’s the cry of the angels in Luke. Jesus himself is called the Prince of Peace. 

But what is peace? When we look around our world, or maybe even when our family’s dining table, we don’t see a lot of peace. Perhaps that’s because we’ve forgotten what it actually is. 

We love to sing about peace on earth at this time of year, especially if accompanied by a boys’ choir, but most of the time we leave out the rest of the angels’ declaration. 

Years after lying in a manger, Jesus would tell his disciples that he did not, in fact, come to bring peace to the earth. (Matthew 10:34, Luke 12:51) The peace Jesus brings is for the people. Not the planet. (John 14:27) 

Why does that matter? Because if we are seeking God’s peace this season – or any other season, actually – we need to look for the correct thing or we’re very likely to miss it. 

A better understanding

What if peace isn’t about a lack of turmoil? It isn’t about avoiding conflict? It isn’t even about a brook bubbling it’s way through a meadow while birds chirp in the distance and a crisp breeze ruffles your hair? 

Peace is about being whole. Jesus came to the world to reconnect us to God in a personal, permanent way. The sin that had severed that connection also robbed us of the ability to be whole. We were made to be in community with God. The absence of that leaves us unsettled and searching. 

If you’ve ever been in a fight with a friend or a co-worker or a family member or even the cashier at Wal-Mart you know that you have two choices. Address the situation and have the uncomfortable conversation that resolves the issue or smile and nod before going home to rant to the world on your private instagram account that you hope the other person never finds. 

Which of these is actual peace? 

Reconnecting with God

Many of us crave peace in our lives right now. We feel stressed and tired. We want to lay down and go to sleep without the worries of the world parading through our minds. We think if I just clear my schedule and commit to fewer things we’ll live a peaceful life. Or maybe we think streamlining our houses to a minimalist capsule of basic necessities will settle our hearts. We seek knowledge of our bodies and minds, chase a higher paycheck with better hours, or swipe our way to a spouse and family thinking if we just fix our surroundings we’ll create a sense of peace. 

Without completing our purpose by reconnecting with God, any notion of peace we try to create will be merely temporary. 

This Christmas, take time to seek true peace. When we see peace as the restoration of our connection to God then we can find it among the busy schedules and the difficult conversations and the feelings of loneliness. We can experience peace in the middle of financial burden or medical fallouts or family chaos. 

A memory challenge

I don’t often use the NIV Bible, but this year I encourage you to memorize Luke 2:14 in that version. Others say “peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased” or “to people he favors.” It can sound cold, calculated, or like something you have to earn. 

But when we realize that Jesus defines peace differently than the world and therefore gives it differently, we realize that God’s favor, his love and care, his very existence in your life is a blessing. His peace is a blanket that brings us into the fold and wraps us securely in God’s arms. 

From there we can face any storm life may bring, and still know true peace.

Kristi Ann Hunter