“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.”

Isaiah 9:6-7

We come to the final name of the Promised Son given to us by God through the prophet Isaiah. All of his names have been culminating towards this final declaration—he is the Prince of Peace.  As our Wonderful Counselor, Jesus guides us in wisdom and truth in a world fraught with danger. As our Mighty God, he has waged a war against the evil one, to rescue us from the kingdom of darkness. As our Everlasting Father, he protects and defends as a king who rules and reigns forever. He has done all of this to escort us into his promised reign of peace.  He is, and will one day finally be, the Prince of Peace. 

When we think about peace, we tend to just think about the absence of war or turmoil. That is a part of what the Bible means when it talks about peace, but it is so much more. The word we translate as “peace” is the Hebrew word “shalom” which means “to be whole and complete”. Peace in the Bible is life as it should be. Yes, there is an absence of war, conflict and strife. But more than that, it is the reversal of all that brokenness, conflict and pain have brought us. It is wholeness and complete fulfillment.

Our world was created to be whole and complete. God created us to be in perfect harmony with him, with each other, with ourselves, and with everything around us. But Adam and Eve were not content. They wanted all that God had to offer them, but did not want to submit to him as their rightful King. So they rebelled against his rule, and shalom shattered, its pieces scattering across the floor. Now we are left with a longing for wholeness, but the constant awareness that all is not as it should be.

The curse has affected everything. We look around us as see conflict between people, who bear the image of God, but seek to destroy one another. We sense the tension in our own souls, an unsettledness in our innermost being. The turmoil in creation is evident in floods, tornadoes, storms and natural disasters. But most of all, we feel the lost of shalom in our relationship with God. We hide from him, rebel against him and are afraid of him. We are shattered people. There is no peace on earth. No good will toward men. 

When God looked down on our warring world, and all of the destruction our hate has caused, he should have destroyed us. It’s what we deserve. But instead of pouring out his wrath on us, he did something unexpected: he sent us a baby. God opened up his heart and sent us his only Son.

When my son was an infant we attended a church that partnered with an organization that cared for women who were recovering from addiction. Many of them had been ravaged by the evil of these substances. Their lives were in pieces around them. They had lost everything—their children, their homes, their jobs. They knew what it felt like to lose shalom. They came to church each Sunday and sang their hearts out, putting their trust in a God they could not see because they had placed their hopes in the Prince of Peace.

On occasion they would ask to hold Harry, and I would happily hand him over. I was an exhausted mother of children who were 16 months apart, so I welcomed the break. I watched as they passed him around with something akin to reverence. They cradled him like he was made of pure gold. These women who had lost so much, saw him for the precious gift that he was, a glimpse of peace and life as it should be. 

This is the image that comes to me when I think of God handing over his only son to people who  felt their need of being whole again. Those who understood the gift that Jesus was, cradled him with care. They welcomed him into their hearts and lives. They celebrated his presence with them. To these broken people, came the kingdom of God. To these he gave the right to be called children of God. (John 1:12)

Only those who feel their own brokenness will reach out for Jesus with open arms. Only the addicts, the disenfranchised, the oppressed, the weak, the sick, the poor realize the gift that Jesus truly is. It’s not the wealthy or the highly esteemed that attend Jesus’ birth but the shepherds, the unwed mothers, and those who are not accepted in the inn. To open your arms to the Prince of Peace, you must acknowledge the war within your soul. To cradle him like pure gold, you must first admit that your arms are empty. Only then will your heart look on him with reverence and see him for the gift that he is.

This Christmas Eve, as we light our candles, let’s remember what it cost Jesus to usher in his kingdom of peace. As you sit around your table with family and friends, remember that he was cut off, so that you might be brought in. As you receive your gifts, remember that he left behind the wealth of heaven, so that your impoverished soul could inherit the kingdom of God. When you are full from your Christmas meal, remember Jesus hanging on a cross, alone and forsaken, so that you might one day have a seat at his Father’s table. As you enjoy the love of the people who surround you, remember Jesus. He was despised and forsaken, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. (Isaiah 53:3) 

Peace doesn’t just happen on its own. It was forged in the fires of his suffering. The walls of hostility that divide us don’t just crumble on their own. They are broken down in his flesh. (Eph. 2:14) Peace with God is free to us, but only because Jesus paid for it with his own blood. Remembering this is what makes this baby so precious to our hearts. 

For to you, beloved child of God, a son was given. Given by a God who loves you and longs for you to be whole again.