Advent Week Four: Peace
“Mary arose in those days, and hastened to the hill country, to a town of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it came to pass, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leapt in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then he spoke with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why was it granted to me, that the mother of my Lord came to me? For in fact, when I heard the voice of your greeting, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is the one who believed, because the things that were spoken to him from the Lord will be fulfilled.” Luke 1:39-49
Our peace is important to God.
The world, however, cannot provide the peace the soul seeks. True peace—the perfect peace of the Lord, as man knew it in the Garden before the Fall—must come from Him.
But the world is loud, filling our ears with all kinds of misinformation about how one can find peace. About what peace is.
Is it financial security? Is it health? Does it have a ten-year plan, and being eight years old? A good family? The ancient Israelites had different ideas about what “peace” looked like than we do.
So many women and men who are considering abortion today are doing so because they are deeply confused about the power of their unborn child to disrupt their world and change it forever.
God knows a little about that.
You see, in His perfect wisdom God sent His only Son to us. And Jesus was sent to change the world forever.
After generations of separation from God, after countless bridges built by sacrifices, humanity was offered the opportunity to walk with God again in the flesh on earth. God has not only offered us “a” peace, but the Prince of Peace.
The Lamb of God was born in a manger—perhaps among several other sheep mixed with donkeys and cows—to be the final blood sacrifice that the Father demanded of the world.
He wrapped his only Son in mortal skin, to walk among us. To teach us. So we heard from his mouth what peace is. And then He will die for us.
Because of His birth, His life, and His death, we will know and have peace, and have it forever.
This week, please join me as I pray:
So that the peace of the Lord may rest upon expectant mothers and fathers, that they will not worry for the future with their children, and that they will find peace and security in the knowledge that God holds their futures and accept the leadership of the Prince of Peace in their situations.
For ourselves, that we may be instruments of peace to our family, friends, and neighbors this Christmas and beyond, including those who may be struggling with unexpected—or unexpectedly complicated—pregnancies.
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