In peace or in pieces?

SOME things in life are shattering. We may feel broken in pieces. Even if we don’t, life can be so busy and often stressful that we long for peace. Peace within our communities, within our families and within ourselves. To know peace with God is most important by far.

We are about to enter the season of Advent. Again we will enjoy the daily events of the Wokingham Living Advent Calendar from December 1 to Christmas Eve in support of local charities.

Related to The Nativity Story being performed on Sunday, December 16, the printed programme includes the strapline “Let peace in this Christmas” – a reminder that one of the primary impacts of the birth of Jesus is peace, peace with God.

It also indicates that this peace is not something that can be earned or even deserved, it is to be ‘let in’, to be received.

God has done all that is necessary to make his peace available to us. To quote the Bible, “… we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, …” (Romans 5:1 NIV).

Yes, this peace is through Jesus Christ who was effective in, “making peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Colossians 1:20 NIV). Through Christ’s gruesome death God offers us peace that is not just the absence of tension but a serenely positive sense of well-being.

It is a wonderful gift from a loving God. So “Let peace in …”