And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”
Peace on earth, good will to men…Is this a reality? Lately it seems that our world is anything but peaceful. “Wars and rumors of wars,” is a more common theme. Seemingly daily we are inundated with stories of terrorism and violence.
But let us remember Jesus’s words to his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.” How then, do we reconcile a hostile world with the peace that Jesus offers? We must understand that peace is not the absence of conflict, but is the presence of Christ. It is an inner stillness of the heart; A confidence that no matter our circumstances, everything is going to be alright.
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.”
Today, as we light the candle of peace, we do so knowing that peace has not yet come to every heart. May we pray, may we give, may we go until every tongue, tribe, and nation knows the peace that comes only with the presence of Jesus Christ.
Ragamuffin Warrior 