What comes to your mind when you think of the word Peace?

Do you picture a young sleeping baby? A dancing hippy and a Volkswagen van? Maybe you see a Miss America pageant contestant promising to pursue world peace?

Peace is when we experience calm and harmony instead of conflict. We all want peace – inner peace, peace in our relationships, world peace – and the Bible promises a time of perfect peace.

But we are a world in conflict with the Creator. Because of this, we don’t experience peace in our relationships and we suffer inner conflict and anxiety as we respond to the conflict we live in.

True peace is only possible when King Jesus institutes perfect justice, and there will never be perfect lasting peace in this world until there is an end to the rebellion against the King. To experience true peace, you must allow him to be the strong, protective Lion with total authority in your life, and you must depend on Him as the sacrificial lamb that takes away your sin and comforts you in your affliction.

If you depend on Jesus to be your Lion and your Lamb you will experience peace in three ways.

On the day of Judgment you can have confidence that you will be at peace with God. The apostle Paul writes, ”Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2)

You’ll be able to cling to the hope of eternal peace to calm your inner conflict. The promise of eternal peace has the power to quiet your inner anxieties, fears, and struggles. You won’t give up or give in if you remember that Jesus wins. You can have confidence that this temporal conflict is part of God’s greater purpose for ultimate peace. We know that He only allows it in order to draw more people to Him, and to help us be more like Him. One day we will live in harmony with God.

You’ll experience more peace in your earthly relationships. We can trust God to do what is right, and to treat us better than we deserve, so we don’t need to avenge ourselves or live with bitterness towards others. Instead, as we do all that is in our control to be at peace with all people we find out the true meaning of Jesus’ words, “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

This Christmas season, remember that peace is possible when you follow Jesus as King and depend on him as Savior.

Andrew