Do You Hear What I Hear?

Do You Hear What I Hear? was written in 1962, a time in American history where

the threat of war and instability were very much concerning. The race to the moon had just

been established, the country was in the middle of the Cold War, and the Cuban Missile

Crisis had just begun.

For some like myself, these moments are just footnotes in a history book – but for

others, they are still fresh in your minds. For those of us who did not experience these

episodes, we must understand it was a time of uncertainty and fear.

Noel Regney, one of the song writers, was in New York City and watching babies being

pushed in strollers on the sidewalks. In that moment, with chaos – uncertainty – and fear of

war surrounding the country, she was inspired to write the lyrics, “Pray for peace, people

everywhere.”

One of the greatest gifts that Jesus has given us is Peace. But the peace He gives is

much different than the type of peace the world is used to.

Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you. MY peace I give to you…” (John 14.27).

The Peace of Christ is more than an absence of war. The peace of Christ is genuinely

a tranquil state of the soul, and the mind, where you fear nothing from God, and you are

content with what He has entrusted you with. This is the same peace that Jesus had the

night He was wrongfully arrested. The same peace He had while He was beaten, mocked,

and crucified.

It is this peace, “My peace,” Jesus said that He is giving to you. As we celebrate

Christmas in the coming days we need to understand that the birth of Christ was a

necessary moment in God’s plan and design for our lives and His purpose. The peace that

Jesus gives us is the kind of peace that cannot be explained. When world says panic, the

Peace of Christ makes us calm. When the world says to seek vengeance, the Peace of

Christ shows forgiveness. When the world says, “It’s ok to act out and be angry,” the Peace

of Christ says, “It is well with my soul.”

This gift of peace, comfort, and contentment is only possible because, Jesus, “though

he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to,” (Philippians

2.6).

John Lennon once said, “If someone thinks that peace and love are just a cliché that

must have been left behind in the 60s, that’s a problem. Peace and love are eternal.”

John wasn’t wrong. Peace and love are eternal – but they are only possible through

faith in Christ. Jesus said, ‘God loved the world so much that He sent His one and only Son,

so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3.16).

This season, let us celebrate the birth of Jesus and hold on to the promise of peace that

only He can provide.