A little boy in Kindergarten was watching as the teacher and some students were scurrying around trying to get the manger scene together before their performance. They worked really hard and as they finished the manger scene, they all were in such a hurry that they forgot to put baby Jesus in the manger. The teacher looking at the little boy realized he wanted to ask a question. She asked him if he had a question. He said, Teacher I do have a question. Where does God fit in? That is a great question. As we enter into the season of Thanksgiving and Christmas where there is so much rushing going on and so many activities the question, we need to ask ourselves is ‘Where does God fit in?’ Isaiah 9:6 says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
This passage gives us two thoughts:
- The Promise of His Advent – “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.”
- The Portrayal of His Attributes – “And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Jesus brought peace at His birth. He taught peace with His words, and He brings peace with His life. Of all the titles given to Jesus, I believe the name the Prince of Peace speaks to the deepest need and desire of our hearts and souls. We live in a time of uncertainty and things are changing all around us. We need peace in our lives. The Lord wants to give us peace in our world.
A father and pastor of a church was trying to study in his home office while watching his small children. He had a terrible time trying to study because of the needs and noise of the children. Finally, the baby went to sleep but the older son never napped. The father had a great idea so that he would be able to pray and concentrate. He found a map of the world on a magazine and tore it into small pieces. He told his son to put the map together and then come to get him when he was finished. He just knew this would take his son a couple of hours to complete. Ten minutes later his son came to his fathers’ office and knocked on the door. The father told his son to get busy and put the map together. Dad, the boy said. “I’m already finished. Really, Dad come and see.” The father walked out and sure enough the map of the world was put back together. He asked how his son had put the world back together in 10 minutes. The boy said, “Oh that was easy. As I was putting the world back together, I noticed on the other side was a picture of a man. So, I put a piece of paper down and put the man together and then I put another piece of paper on top of the man and turned it over and found the world was together too. Daddy, here is what I decided. If I got the man right, then I figured the world would be right too.” That’s the message of Christmas. If our hearts are right, then the world would be right and we’ll have peace in the world for His name shall be called ‘The Prince of Peace.’
Romans 5:1 reads, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” This peace is personal and we can have individual peace. We cannot know the Peace of God until we have peace with God. We will never understand that Peace. I can’t describe it for you. I can’t draw you a picture. God’s Peace transcends human understanding. Praise the Lord for His Peace that each person can have.
God also gives Peace in the general life of the church. Ephesians 4:3 reads, “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace.” I believe God want every church to be united. Our church name, Churches of Christ in Christian Union, needs to be more than a title. The only way that will happen is that the Prince of Peace himself, Jesus Christ, is the head of the Church.
As we come into this time of year my prayer is that the world will know who Jesus is. There is a story from 1947 when Princess Elizabeth was to marry the Duke of Edinburgh. Many invitations went out and royalty assembled in the streets for a procession. Among those was King Fissel II, a 12-year-old Monarch from Iraq. He had no special dress. He loved the horses and as they went by, he broke through the crowd and ran to the horses. The policemen treated him roughly as they put him back in the crowd. The next morning the London paper had this statement in print. “Please forgive us King Fissel for we didn’t know who you were.”
Let us share the Good News with someone this Christmas that they may come to know who Jesus is----for His name shall be called the Prince of Peace.
