Peace on Earth

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”       Luke 2:13-14 (NLT)

I’m going to change the format just a bit today. I am going to ask you to watch and listen to this video first. It may be a familiar video of Snoopy. If you are a fan of Charlie Brown’s Christmas stories, you have seen this but listen again.
Snoopy’s Christmas by The Royal Guardsmen (1965)

If you remember anything about World War I history, aerial warfare was brutal and the life expectancy of a pilot was usually measured in weeks and months, not years. And here is a story in the midst of the horror of adversaries saying, “It is Christmas. We choose Christmas not death.”

Every day, I make choices. I can choose to be angry or deep breathe, and with God’s help, choose patience and compassion. I can choose to be overwhelmed or, with God’s help, take the next step and rely on Him for whatever is next. I can choose to kill or, with God’s help, consider how I can go with mercy. I know that war brings a whole thick shade of gray to this analogy and Snoopy and the Red Baron are not reality but long before the aerial warfare of WWI, there were choices that could have led to peace, not war.

I may not be able, by myself, to bring peace to Afghanistan or Sudan, but God uses “plain ol’ Jody’s” like me to do some extraordinary events. So why not take that mustard seed of faith and take it out for a try? What do I mean? What can I do about “peace on earth”?

Jesus said that His peace is a free gift (John 14:27). Jesus also said that we have been given much and we should give just as freely (Matthew 10:8). So if I have been given His peace, I should be giving it away; leaking it out, and speaking it freely wherever I go and to whomever I meet.

David said in Psalm 122:6: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure.” (NIV) Did God single out which children He desired to save and which He didn’t? God desires that all His children know the saving grace of Jesus (1 Timothy 2:4). Pray for peace! Pray! Whether God’s children are Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian, Ethiopian, Greek, French, Chinese, or even American. Pray for peace for God’s children.

Snoopy was sent on a “suicide mission” in terrible conditions. It wasn’t expected to end in victory! And when it looked like Snoopy was going to fail, God’s Spirit intervened in a miraculous way and a moment of peace came. What if 3 people were willing to answer “yes”? There would be 3 moments of peace. Contagious, isn’t it? God works like that. Twelve guys spread the Good News some 2000 years ago and millions know Jesus now. God works on the “contagious plan”. Let’s spread the peaceful infection, shall we?

Let There Be Peace on Earth by Jill Jackson and Sy Miller (1955)