The Prince of Peace

When we think about the cost of peace in the world, it comes at a costly price. Peace is always a negotiated settlement that costs something to attain and to maintain. Peace is not cheap, just think of the DMZ zone between North and South Korea and the price it costs to keep that zone maintained so that war doesn't break out between the two countries.  The cost of peace in the world today takes a lot of money and manpower to maintain.

The cost of peace was not cheap to God either when you think of the sacrifice God went through to send His Son to die so that peace could be obtained.  God's heart is about reconciliation, and redemption, and it is obvious in how He pursued us with an offer of peace through the cross.  I think the greatest heartache to God is when people reject His peace offer and maintain a stubborn defense against it. In Ezekiel 33 God states that He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, because He know the fate of an eternal state of "no peace."  Peace is not just a state of mind here on earth, but peace extends throughout the ages into eternity forever. Jesus is more than just a good teacher and a prophet of God, Isaiah tells us that He is the Kingdom of God as Isaiah describes:

Isaiah 9:6 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. The Prince of Peace is the ruler of God's kingdom, (the government shall be upon his shoulder) Gods wisdom (wonderful counselor) and God's power (mighty God) and God's eternal state (everlasting Father) is all wrapped up in this child that was born in Bethlehem, Jesus the Christ. The last description is about Him being the prince of peace, a description given only to one who makes peace. The child was born to bring peace on earth, but this peace was not negotiated at a government level, it was negotiated on a Kingdom level where the price to bring this peace to all the earth was the price of sacrificed life.  The cost of peace is never cheap.  This holiday season think about the Prince of Peace, the one whose birth was designed around the sacrifice of His life to bring peace and good will to all mankind.  Merry Christmas ......K