The announcement of the heavenly messengers proclaiming our Lord’s birth to the shepherds, finds its climax in these words from Luke 2:14, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”.
How shall we respond to the terrorist attacks in Paris that killed so many and the increasing threats by ISIS and the Taliban? We see a continued escalation of nuclear threat and aggression by powerful alliances around the world who see America as an enemy to their agenda of power and control. What is the answer to this ongoing threat?
Many believe that the only answer is “peace through strength”. Ronald Regan used this ancient axiom as a platform for his military policy in the 1983 election campaign when he said: "We know that peace is the condition under which mankind was meant to flourish. Yet peace does not exist of its own will. It depends on us, on our courage to build it and guard it and pass it on to future generations.”
I don’t doubt for a moment that we have real enemies in the world whose ideology and vision of the world is very different from that of American freedom and democracy or that the country that will dominate will be the country that has the greatest military strength and strategy. But the real battle will not be won with military weapons, as Paul says: “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Cor 10:4).
There will continue to be “wars and rumors of wars”, but God is still on his throne, ruling over all and directing the affairs of human history for his own glory. And the message of the Angels needs to be heard today. The only peace that ultimately matters in this world is the peace that God brought when he came into this world in the person of Jesus as the “prince of peace”, to accomplish peace for us:
“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Col 1:19-20)
God has sent us into this broken world with the triumphant Gospel message of “peace on earth”. But it will only be experienced, by “those with whom he is pleased”. God is only pleased with those who have trusted in Christ who has accomplished this peace for us. We can know this peace as a present reality, even as the world continues to struggle to find it. It is not a “peace through strength”, but a “peace through Christ’s strength” that glorifies God.
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