The Prince of Peace

For unto us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, . . . . and He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace and, of His governance and peace, there will be no end." [Isaiah 9:6].

It seems that Jesus is honored with many names. Jesus means "God saves". "The Christ" comes from the Greek meaning for "Messiah." Some call Him Emmanuel, which means "God-With-Us."  Jesus is also known as our Savior (literally "the One who saves".) In this Scripture, He is also called Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father.

This week being the last week of Advent, I prefer to call Jesus "The Prince of Peace".  Just as the first purple candle on the Advent Wreath symbolized Hope and the second purple candle symbolized Love, and the pink candle symbolized Joy, so the fourth purple candle symbolizes Peace.

This week in Advent, as Christmas preparations are reaching a fevered frenzy, I seek above all, Peace! And where I find this peace is with The Prince of Peace, Jesus.

Recently, my young son asked me what I wanted for Christmas? I said, with a twinkle in my eye, "Uhhh. . . .'Peace on earth, good will to men?' "  [Luke 2: 14].  My son answered, "That's what you want from your brother!" Oh, the great wisdom in a child.

The truth is, during my childhood, I enjoyed no peace. There was food in the house but sometimes I was not fed. There were no locks on the bedroom or bathroom doors, and no proper sense of boundaries between the adults and children. I had no fan to keep me cool on summer nights, even though everyone else in the house had a way to stay cool. I was ridiculed each day for being ugly. If I hid in my room, I could never be sure that it was physically a safe haven. If I left to go outside, the neighborhood children would taunt me.  Even though I made straight A's, I was called a failure at home, and a "brain" out in the world. No place was safe.

Living in physical deprivation and fear is not a pathway to Peace. There is no Hope in this kind of life.

And yet, I learned to stay out of the way.  Like Jesus and his Disciples, if there was no welcome "in one village", I would move on.  Jesus instructed His disciples, "Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave. . . If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town."  I was in school long hours, I would hide in my room and read; if that was not safe, I would go outside and ride my bike, the wind blowing gently through my hair. I would eat when and where I could, I would move on to somewhere else if the kindness stopped. I became essentially "nomadic."


In my house growing up, family members had sardonic names for every ethnic group in the world. All "those people" were inferior to Us, or so it was repeated. I was embarrassed and ashamed at what was being said. Someone recently remarked that it is a wonder I did not turn out that way? I replied, choking up, "You do not understand, a child does not want Hate. She wants only Love."


Living in a house of  bitter judgment against others is not a pathway to Peace. There is no Love in that way of life.

I could not change how my family felt and believed. But I did try to make a difference in our home. I volunteered to tend my mother's garden, if she would only allow me to bring some flowers and plants into my room. I offered to do all the family's sewing and mending, if only my mother would buy me a sewing machine. One summer, I painted the foundation of our house after a small addition was built.

Despite all of my good works, I fell into a kind of Despair. No matter how much I did, it seemed it was never good enough, never enough to keep me safe. My family had taught me that there is no God; or if there is a God, He is there only for the desperate, whose human capabilities have failed them. In other word, only "Losers" who cannot accomplish anything need God. The rest of us get along just fine without Him.

Living in a place where we are judged only by our own fragile efforts as humans-- but where there is no Faith, no God-- is not a pathway to Peace.  There is no Joy in this kind of life.

So where do I find Peace?

I find Peace in Jesus, in what He teaches me and in what He stands for. I find Peace through Hope, through Love, through Faith and through Joy.

This Christmas, will you find the promise of the Hope, the Love, the Faith, the Joy, in the Child who is born unto us?

Lord, I crave the Peace in my life that Only You can bring, through the birth of Your only Son.

(c) The Spiritual Devotional 2011. All Rights Reserved.