Peace And Goodwill Toward Men

God in His infinite love for mankind chose to send a special gift into the world which was His son Jesus Christ, the announcement of his birth was magnificent. Luke chapter 2:8-14 tells us “8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Not only are we given such a wonderful gift but the scripture tells us the purpose of it in verse 14 …And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” What does this statement actually mean? It could be construed that Christmas was never designed to be a burdensome, anxious, strifeful time with each other, it was suppose to be a time of celebration that our lives were going to be made better by the arrival of Jesus.

In what way you may ask how this was going to happen? Christians believe that without Jesus, mankind was destined to eternal damnation after they’ve passed through this life, and ^[1]Jesus was the divine Saviour sent by God to redeem man. The Bible tells us prior to the fall into sin, man was living in harmony with God’1. Division came when man decided to disobey God’s law which caused the earth and the hearts of men to fall into darkness. The remedy to bring light back into our lives was by God sending the Saviour Jesus Christ. Even though it’s a well known fact among scholars that Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th it is acknowledged by all religions that he did live on the earth.

Born of the Virgin Mary Jesus’ life epitomised love, healing, peace etc, qualities lost by mankind due to the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Jesus came to reconcile man back to God and with each other, hence the angel’s proclamation of peace and goodwill to all men.

I want to encourage you this Christmas to take a step out of the commercialism and embrace God’s gift to you of love, joy, peace as exemplified through Jesus Christ. Ask yourself why are you buying a multitude of presents for one person when one is sufficient, (by the way I’m not a humbug). Furthermore, be at peace with yourself, what you have and enjoy this season with loved ones and don’t forget the poor in your community, that is goodwill toward each other.

Until next time, remember you are beautiful and wonderfully made – With love Amanda x                  

 Amanda Alexander is a Pastor, Teacher, TV Media Journalist; Founder of Female Dignity & Amanda Alexander Productions

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^[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201&version=NIV