Dec 24th, 2021: God's Glory, Peace and Goodwill




Today is Christmas Eve Day. When I was a kid, I would go to the closest Catholic Church to listen to the Christmas carols sung by its choir. Although I was not a Christian at the time, something was magical about it. We were living in a war-torn country, and the notion of peace was both surreal and desirable. Peace was something people talked about at the time, and no one really had any idea what it was.


"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men." - Luke 2:14


Three statements that seem to go together in this verse:


Glory to God: I don't think we either know or care what that means these days. It is not that cool to mention Jesus at Christmas high school concerts. Some retailers have forbidden their employees to say "Merry Christmas" to their clients. How can we see God's glory if we don't intend to acknowledge Him? We have replaced the Glory of God with the fallacy of humanity. We have learned to glorify ourselves. The more we do that, the more confusion we create.


Peace on Earth: We have put peace and harmony through a severe test. As we prepare to celebrate this Christmas, Russia is preparing to attack Ukraine. China might take over Taiwan and maybe Vietnam. The Middle East is not all that settled. It is hard for us to live in peace with one another when we are constantly at war with God. The opposite of peace is not our war against one another alone. It is our war against God.


Goodwill toward men: Goodwill is an outcome of a tender heart and a kind spirit. Our hearts can only become tender when we are at peace with ourselves. That would not happen without Christmas. Having the freedom to acknowledge that other people are God's precious creation is also an essential aspect of goodwill toward others. We need to experience the goodness of God so that we can pass it on to others.

 

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