Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men

Well, we've just had Christmas and amongst all the holiday festivities, I wanted to take time and reflect on what I'm actually celebrating. I know not all people celebrate Christmas from a Christian point of view and that's fine... I'm merely speaking from the perspective of what Christmas means to me. I think as my relationship with God grows and changes over time, Christmas become even more significant and exciting. Not only because I'm now a mother and I get to watch the excitement of Christmastime on the faces of my children, but also because I feel as though I have a deeper understanding of the awesomeness of the gift that Jesus was/is to us and how He truly is the Prince of Peace. Grasping the reality that it is because of Him that we now enjoy peace with God makes my heart overflow with gratitude. Ultimately for me, knowing that I am at peace with God right now settles in my mind once and for all that NO BAD THING that ever happens to me is ever a result of His judgment or anger for my shortcomings. Jesus took care of that - once and for all. Because of Him, I never have to experience the wrath of God for not being able to measure up to His standard of righteousness. I am righteous now. I am accepted and loved and blessed and made whole now. The issue is this - do I believe it? The more I am able to convince my heart, the very seat of my being, of who I am in Jesus RIGHT NOW, the more peace I will experience in this present life, no matter what may come my way. I am also convinced, more than ever, that we all need to experience this reality for ourselves. No one else can experience it for you. That was the reason Jesus came... not so you could go to God on my behalf, but so that each one of us could experience Him individually. And once you've tasted and seen how good He really is, I promise you, nothing else will come close to satisfying you. He's so good... and every time I think, 'Wow God, I didn't know it could be this good,' He blows me away with some more of His goodness.

I realize many people are pursuing peace on different levels out there. For me, the deepest place of finding peace is understanding that I am at peace with God and that He loves me - and not just understanding this on an intellectual level, but experiencing it in my life. I know I've mentioned a lot about 'experience' in this post, but I'm convinced that it's the place to live. I am tired of speaking about theory, I want to speak from experiential knowledge, as I learn what really works. I may not always get it right, and that's okay, because my goal isn't to get you to see things my way or to follow me, but to whet your appetite to know this for yourself. That's what it's all about. Until next time... happy holidays!