THE SET UP: In Northern Ireland, there’s a city that’s so divided, part of the population calls it Londonderry and others call it Derry. In this city Protestants live on the east bank and Catholics on the west bank. Many of them don’t like to mix, so one of the solutions was to build a bridge. The 900-foot bridge curves like a snake and is for walkers, joggers, and cyclists. They named it “Peace Bridge.” That’s what they’re trying to do, build a bridge, build peace.
But is that really peace or is it just accommodation or a compromise? The bridge might “keep the peace,” but is it bringing any peace?
When Jesus was born to bring “peace on earth, goodwill to men,” He didn’t show up to get people to play nice with each other. He came to bring reconciliation. He came to bring healing. He came to bring peace. That peace begins between us and God. The reason Jesus was born and ultimately died and was resurrected was to reconcile us to God so we could experience peace. It is that ultimate peace we can experience that allows us to experience peace with ourselves (internally) and with other people (externally).
Until we have peace with God, which leads to a clean moral conscious, we can’t really experience peace with anyone else, and that includes the person in the mirror. As we await Christ’s birth this Advent season, we can experience peace with God and man.
PASSAGES TO READ: Romans 5:1-2
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
Do you think there is a difference between “getting along” with someone and really having peace with them? What’s the difference in your opinion?
What do you think it means to have peace with God? With others? With yourself?
Have you trusted in Jesus to bring you peace with God?
PRAYER IDEA: “Jesus, thank you for coming to earth to reconcile us to God and make a way for us to experience true peace. Thank you that you didn’t just build a bridge so we could get along, but you became the bridge so that we could cross it and find forgiveness from God. I pray for your peace in my life this Advent season.”