THE PRINCE OF PEACE                                                Isaiah 9:1-7

‘And he will be called … Prince of Peace.’ (v6)

Of all the titles given to the coming Messiah in the ninth chapter of Isaiah, the one I find most captivating is ‘Prince of Peace.’ Consider with me now how Jesus went about the task of embodying the title Prince of Peace.

The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, tells us that Christ left His home in glory in order to enter this strife-town planet and reconcile humankind to God. I have always loved J.B. Philips’ paraphrase of Philippians 2:5, which reads thus: ‘Let Christ Jesus be your example as to what your attitude should be. For he, who had always been God by nature, did not cling to his prerogatives as God’s equal, but stripped himself of all privilege by consenting to be a slave by nature and being born as mortal man. And, having become man, he humbled himself by living a life of utter obedience, even to the extent of dying, and the death he died was the death of a common criminal.’ What a beautiful description of Jesus’ commitment to bridging the gulf that existed between us and God.

There is no greater truth to be found anywhere in the Word of God than the truth that Jesus Christ came to end the hostility between ourselves and God and bring peace to the troubled hearts of humanity. With Christ’s love within us we can follow in His footsteps by helping to reconcile those whose relationships are wrecked and broken. Don’t let any broken relationships in your family or church remain that way. Ask the Prince of Peace for the opportunity and help to bring restoration.

PRAYER LINE: Lord and Master, Prince of Peace, teach me the art of peacemaking I pray. When I stumble in my attempts to bring peace, help me to stumble in Your direction so that I find Your everlasting arms around me. Amen. (EDWJ)

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The Prince of Peace is the Lamb of God.