Lyle's Blog

Peace on earth, goodwill toward men. That was the message given to shepherds 2000 years ago. The event, the birth of Jesus Christ, was to offer to men a way to have peace with God. Men were sinners, an affront to the purpose of God. The Bible says that God is angry with the world continually. He loves His creation (us) but hates the evil we do.

He never offered freedom from war, because only men can offer peace to one another. It’s interesting to note that in the millennial reign Christ, He will rule with a rod of iron. If there is to be peace with men, it appears that men aren’t very cooperative just because Jesus Christ is on the throne.

We are told that, if it is at all possible, to live in peace with men and we are to protect and take care of the widow and the fatherless. Mankind is always on the path of doing wrong deeds. When men debase themselves to the point of wanton killing of the innocent and defenseless, it is our duty to intervene.

But let’s get back to having peace with God. Being at war with God has dire consequences for our souls and our eternal security. Because loves us He offers us the gift of Jesus Christ, His son, to pay the price for our sin. Jesus humbled himself to a position He can not rise from, that is, Christ becoming a man. Jesus cannot be unborn, He cannot not undo death on the cross, He cannot undo the feeling of being rejected by His father. He paid what His father required. It is finished. We have a choice to make, following Christ or following ourselves.

So we say Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! To make our “merry” and “happy” eternal, we need to accept that gift from an angry God. He’s still angry at the world and will be more so with those who reject so gracious a gift.