I remember being a child and praying for peace on earth. Bright-eyed, hopeful, and innocent, I believed with my whole heart that God would answer. He could end world hunger and nations fighting against each other. He could stop hatred, violence, shootings, and theft. I knew he could. I knew it.

            Then I grew up and learned more about this world we live in. I heard countless stories of abuse from parents toward children. News reports showed a darker evilness that I had not seen as a child. And wars were more violent than I could have ever imagined. I still believed that God could fix anything and change any heart, but I was starting to see the problem with my prayer.

            Free will. God created this earth and gave us the choice to follow him or not. Adam and Eve. Cain and Abel. Sarah and Abraham. Me and you. We have a choice every single day of our lives. Will we choose God or our flesh? Will we feed or surrender our selfish desires?

            As my knowledge of Jesus has grown, my understanding of peace has changed. Jesus is called the Prince of Peace, yet when he came, he separated families, disbanded religious groups, and disrupted Roman control. The peace he brought did not come in the form of calmness. He taught his disciples that true belief required surrender, humility, and sacrifice. They might have to say goodbye to their families or religious posts of duty. Choosing the way of Jesus wasn’t about following the Prince of Contrived Peace, but the Prince of True Peace.

            True peace doesn’t mean quietness and looking past concerns or issues. It doesn’t mean sluffing issues off our backs and shoulders. True peace comes from a heart and soul that has decided to accept Jesus as Savior. This heart and soul have chosen his free gift of grace along with the forgiveness of sins. This heart and soul confront the wrongs in this world, leads others toward Jesus, and daily choose self-denial instead of self-indulgence.

            During this Advent season, as we think of Jesus as our Peace, it’s important to remember what peace really is. He came to bridge the gap between heaven and hell. He died so that we didn’t have to. He chose death in exchange for our life. He is the Hope we didn’t know we needed. Immanuel. Prince of Peace.

            May we never forget what his sacrifice meant for this sin-infested world. Peace.