Sunday, December 8, 2019

Peace Comes to Hearts Where God’s Grace Finds a Home


Have you ever sung a song for a long time, only to learn that you had the lyrics wrong?  Writer Deborah Patterson asked people to send her Christmas songs they or their children had badly misunderstood.  Here are a few Christmas songs gone wrong from her collection. 

~       He’s making a list, of chicken and rice.
~       Dashing through the snow, on a one-horse soap and hay
~       Round John Virgin, mother and child…
~       Later on, we’ll perspire, as we drink by the fire…
~       Get dressed, ye married gentlemen…
~       See the grazing mule before us, fa la la la la la la la la…
~       Olive, the other reindeer, used to laugh and call him names…
~       Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel …Barney’s the king of Israel…

Most of us have been repeating the song the angels sang to the shepherds since we were very young, but the truth is, most of us don’t have the message quite right.  And in getting this song wrong, we’ve missed the path to peace. 

Most of us quote the angel song in the words of the King James Version,

(Luke 2:14b) And on earth peace, good will toward men.

That’s a perfectly good translation, but it doesn’t clearly express the meaning of the Greek words it translates. 

The way it reads, we often take it to mean, Let there be peace on earth and all of you good folks practice good will toward other people.”

That’s not a bad message.  I could vote for it, but it misses the life-changing power of the words the angels proclaimed that first Christmas night.  I believe the New International Version comes much closer to this verse's true meaning, 

(Luke 2:14b) And on earth peace to those on whom (God’s) favor rests. 

Peace comes to those who realize God is for them, God loves them, God sent Jesus to save them, and let that truth rest upon them, find a home in their hearts. 

A week ago, we celebrated my Andrew’s 26th birthday, so he’s been on my mind lately.  I remember when he was only a day or two old, I went to the hospital nursery to bring him to Linda in her room.  You may know the pride you feel when you drive a new car through your neighborhood.  You want to take the long way home and wave at everyone as you drive by.  I felt that and much more as I pushed Andrew’s plexiglas bassinet down the hospital hallway.  I wanted everyone to see my baby boy.  The route from the nursery to Linda’s room passed through a stairwell, a great building design achievement.  Going through the doorway of the stairwell into Linda’s hallway, the bassinet bumped across a metal threshold.  This sudden bump startled little Andrew and he began to cry.  He was, after all, a little tiny nine-pound, twelve-ounce baby. I talked to him as we rolled down the hall, but he wasn’t listening.  He was afraid and letting the world know.  As we came through the doorway of Linda’s hospital room, I was greeted by that new mama look that said, in all caps, “Dee, what have you done to my baby?”  I didn’t answer that glare, because there was no acceptable answer.  But what happened next, I’ll never forget.  I reached down and placed my big old hand on Andrew’s little back and ever so gently rubbed it.  In an instant, he stopped crying and was at peace.  Linda and I looked at each other in amazement, as though I’d fed five thousand with one hospital tray or parted the cars outside to find a parking place.  The moment Andrew felt his father’s hand resting upon him, his distress turned to peace. 

That, I believe, is a picture of what must happen to us to find peace.  Life’s bumpy ride frightens us.  We feel helpless to do anything about it.  But then, if we open our hearts to God, His grace, His saving love, His favor rests upon us like a strong loving hand.  And when we feel the touch of grace and know we are His, our distress becomes peace. 

Peace comes when the seed of grace God has sown upon the world takes root and grows within your heart. 

When you believe what the angel said, that the good news is for you. 

When you realize that Jesus came into the world to be your Savior. 

May God's grace, brought to earth and to life through Jesus, find a home in your heart--and give you peace.

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