Luke 10:36-37
It Came Upon A
Midnight Clear
When
the new heaven and earth shall own the Prince of Peace, their King,
And
the whole world send back the song which now the angels sing.
When the angels first
sang about peace on earth and goodwill to all men, the shepherds must have
wondered what was going on. They certainly didn’t hear angelic choirs everyday,
and first century Palestine was hardly a peaceful place. The streets buzzed with
rumors of revolution and the tension often boiled over into violence. Society
was split along lines of gender, race, wealth, and religion. The shepherds
themselves were only a few rungs above beggars on the social ladder. For some
of us, Christmas itself is a time to be with friends and family, but for others
it reminds us that we are alone or separated from loved ones. Two thousand
years later, we seem to be as far as ever from “heaven on earth.”
Many people in the
first century were expecting a quick fix for the world’s problems, and of
course that didn’t happen. It still hasn’t happened. But Christmas reminds us
of God’s promise to bring in a kingdom where wars, injustice, and even death
will be a thing of the past, and where we will live together with God.
That’s
our hope. God does have a plan. The best really is to come.
In the meantime, God
continues to show His love to us in so many ways. He provides for our needs. He
answers our prayers. He invites us to start living today like citizens of the
kingdom that has not yet been fully revealed. We can love one another as Christ
loved us here and now. We can show His compassion and His unconditional love to
others today. We can experience a foretaste of the new Heaven and earth right
now. We can share that experience with others. And we can do all this in the
knowledge that God’s Kingdom will prevail and that the whole of creation will
one day see the truth that those shepherds heard on a remote, Palestinian
hillside.
Question:
What one thing could you change to give those
around you a foretaste of God’s Kingdom of peace?
Adapted From: Carols A Christmas Devotion - You Version
