Scripture: Isaiah 9:5-6 “The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. . . . For a child is born to us.”

“War is over,” declared John Lennon in 1971. Yet each day the news defies his wishful thinking. According to one watchdog agency, the world currently endures 110 armed conflicts. 

Daily we view the grim evidence. One news photo shows a young man riding a motorbike into battle, an assault rifle slung across his back. Another depicts a woman poking forlornly through the rubble of her home. Rockets launched from over the horizon had demolished her apartment building.

Violence has long been with us. More than seven hundred years before Christ, the people of Judah braced for a looming invasion (Isaiah 7:2).

Then God’s prophet Isaiah made a remarkable announcement. A child called “Immanuel” would be born. His name means “God is with us” (v.14).

The birth of Jesus marked the entry into the world of the One who is its very light (John 8:12). As Isaiah promised, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light” (Isaiah 9:2). This Child would be called, “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (v.6). 

Because of Him, “The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned” (v.5). “His government and its peace will never end,” Isaiah declares (v.7). The promise of Immanuel is the promise of peace. We await His return to reign as the Prince of Peace. — Tim Gustafson

Oh, did you know?

That peace is more than just the absence of conflict? Christians believe that the peace we long for in our hearts is found only when we have peace with the God who loves us. Peace is characterised by what is present – not what is absent, and it’s the essence of Paul’s words in Romans 14:17: “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”