May the Lord bless his people
with peace (shalom)! (Psalm 29:11)
Shalom kind of peace cannot be won by the sword. It comes as a blessing from God. Jesus is born into a world that made big peace claims. They called it PAX ROMANA. It means the “peace of Rome.” It remains the greatest peace, of that sort, the world has ever known. It’s a peace won and kept by the sword.
The peace of God is different. God’s peace “surpasses all understanding.”
It comes as a gift—a gracious gift. That’s
why the Apostle begins his letters to us with “Grace to
you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Ro 1:7). It’s a peace that does not come from the
sword but from grace. Or, to put it another way, the grace of Christmas morning
leads to “peace on earth.”
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