Jesus Offers You Peace with God
You may have never realized that if you're trying to live your way instead of God's way, you're in conflict with God. He created you to live for his purposes, but you've been living in rebellion against God. The Bible says this is a universal problem: "We're all like sheep who've wander off and gotten lost. We've all done our own thing, gone our own way. And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, on him, on him (Jesus). It is this unspoken war with God--where each of us chooses to disobey what God has told us to do--that causes tension in your mind and fatigue in your body.
The symptoms of being at war with God are easy to spot: Irritability, a quick temper, insecurity, impatience, manipulation, arrogance and boasting, holding grudges, and many other attitudes and habits that the bible calls the "works of the flesh." The Message translation of the Bible gives this paraphrase: "It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheep sex, a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage: frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness......cutthroat competition: all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants: a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved: divided homes and divided lives......the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival;...uncontrollable addiction."
In contrast, the effects of being reconciled to God--being at peace with him--are all the qualities you'd like to have in your life. The Bible calls these the "fruit of the Spirit" : "When the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce this king of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."
There is a built-in longing inside each of us to be at peace with our physical fathers. This desire for connection is hardwired into us. Even if your father has been apathetic toward you or abandoned you or even abused you, something feels missing if that relationship is disconnected. We want it to be different, and we long to be reconciled. People do all kinds of stupid things in an attempt to earn the approval of a parent. It's a deep need.
But an even deeper, unconscious need is to be reconciled and reconnected to your Creator, Your heavenly Father. People often tell me that they sense and incompleteness in their lives, but they don't know what they're looking for. "Something is missing, "they say or, "There's got to be more to life than this!" So they try all kinds of remedies--activities, achievements, drugs, affairs---in an attemp to plug the holes in their hearts. What they need is to be reconciled to God. Nothing else can compensate for a broken relationship with God.
The good news of Christmas is that Jesus cam to be the bridge of reconciliation between you and God. The Bible says, "God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold the world guilty of its sins." It also says, "Even when we were God's enemies, he made peace with us, because his Son died for us. Yet something even greater than friendship is ours. Now that we are at peace with God, we will be saved by his Son's life".
How can you, an imperfect person, be reconciled to a perfect God? Well, it's not a matter of compromise or bargaining or negotiating with God. Peace comes from surrender--total, unconditional surrender to God. You admit that God is God and your are not! You give up the ridiculous notion that you know more about what's best for you and what will make you happy than your Creator does. You give up the rebellious attitude that you can pick and choose which of God's rules you'll follow and which ones you'll ignore.
Why should you surrender to God? Well, one fact is certain: there's no way you can win a war against God. As Job's friend said, "Stop quarreling with God! If you agree with him, you will have peace at last, and things will go well for you".
Your Christmas Prayer
Dear God, thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, so I could get to know you. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for being with me all my life even when I didn't know it. I realize I need a savior to set me free from sin, from myself, and from all the habits, hurts, and hang-ups that mess up my life. I ask you to forgive me for my sins. I want to repent and live the way you created me to live. Be the Lord of my life, and save me by your grace. Save me from my sins, and save me for your purpose. I want to learn to love you, trust you, and become what you made me to be. Thank you for creating me and choosing me to be part of your family. Rich now, by faith I accept the Christmas gift of your Son. Fill me with your peace and assurance so I can be a peacemaker, and help me share this message of peace with others. In your name I pray, amen.
Taken from The Purpose of Christmas, by Rick Warren.
Melanie Herr
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