If we want peace, then we need to listen to the voice of God and pay attention to living out the commandments. This is not new; it is as old as the first covenant.
The Israelites failed to obey and they lost their lands and the temple. It took an outsider, Cyrus, to restore the remnant of Israel to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.
The people of Jesus' time didn't listen to his voice and again Jerusalem was lost and the temple destroyed. We don't know what will happen today if we don't listen and obey.
We do know that the world is not at peace. Although we are not suffering a world-wide war, there is war going on in every corner of the world and there is violence everywhere. Peace does not reign.
We are once again preparing to celebrate the birth of the King of Peace. But unless we listen to his voice, we will not have peace.
Just like the Israelites who turned to idols thinking that they would save them, we often turn to idols ignoring the One who has the ability to save us from ourselves.
Without peace in our hearts, we won't have peace in the world. Hearts that are controlled by sinfulness are not at peace.
The liar is always worried that they will be found out. The greedy will never be satisfied with what they have. The proud will be afraid that someone might figure out that they really don't know everything. Anger is both self-destructive and dangerous for those around us.
If we truly want peace, let us concentrate on being peaceful people. This is the perfect time to start.
