Today is a "do as little as possible" day - a day of recovering from 3 days of too much food, too much sugar, and more than enough beverages. A day of peace.
Peace.
The song of the host of angels appearing to the shepherds still rings in my head.
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host
appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Luke 2: 13-14
So where is this peace?
The news this Christmas was once again full of violence: the bombing of Christians in Nigeria; local stabbings and shootings; fatal unrest and oppression in Syria - the list goes on and on.
As I was reflecting on this, a postcard that I received from my maternal grandfather (in a stack of old pictures) came to mind. It was a postcard that my great grandfather had sent to his family from the eastern front in WWI. The postcard greeting conveyed wishes for a good new year to his family. (My great grandfather was a soldier in the German army.)
I was struck by the image on the front of the postcard.
The stars form the words Ceasefire 1917: Victory and Peace. The information on the back of the postcard tells me the card is the 6th of a series called The Fieldgrey Santa Claus. Fieldgrey refers to the colour of the german military uniform.
Victory and Peace?
Where is this peace? Where do we find peace?
I find peace in my faith that Christ came to earth, lived among mankind, died and rose again; all that I may find peace in God and the hope of eternal life.
I believe peace can only be found in God - humans have clearly proven themselves incapable of establishing any kind of lasting peace for all.
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Timothy 1:2
Thanks Horst for your comments! 1917 as you know was the beginning of the Russian Revolution which then impacted many lives. My father was born in 1918 and it was when he was 6 that they found a way out to North America. I agree that our peace lies beyond this world and in the hands of one who bears the marks of my sin.
ReplyDeletePease be still.
RBG