Peace And Good Will?

We are entering the season of the year when phrases like "peace on earth" and "good will toward men" are frequently heard. Our hearts yearn for the experience of those thoughts. Daily we are faced with the opposite. We live in houses with security systems and fences because we fear that our peace will be disturbed and we know that there are many who have no good will toward anyone. We listen to news reports each evening that are filled with stories of violence and crime.

Recently, natural events have brought havoc and destruction again and again. It seems that there is no place of peace and goodwill. I noticed that on this day in 1954 the peace and safety of a citizen's own home in Alabama was shattered when a meteorite crashed through the roof of a house into the living room and struck her. In this week's news there was a story about a vehicle that ran off the road and crashed right into someones home. Almost daily we are alerted to children who have been kidnapped, abused or neglected.

Where is the peace and good will that was announced by the angels so many years ago? As long as we focus on this world we will not find it. But when we focus on the One whose arrival was being announced by the angels we will enjoy it. In Jesus' sermon on the mount we find the beatitudes. Each of them begins with the word "blessed." The full meaning of that word is "an inner peace, joy and satisfaction that outside circumstances cannot affect." The presence of Jesus and his principles in our life can help us to have that peace and good will that He came to bring. We can enjoy it today in spite of all that goes on around us. Of course, when we are actually in His presence for eternity those gifts will be experienced in their fullest. What a wonderful day that will be.