Tonight at our Little Big Church service, Garry told the story of Jed and Roy McCoy, shepherd brothers whose enmity left them glowering at each other and taking revenge for imagined slights. Their lives were changed when an angel appeared to them telling them to go to Bethlehem to see a baby who would bring peace to the world… making them realise that life is too short for enmity and peace can be achieved because of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
Not only is Jesus the Prince of Peace, though; He is also the price of peace. There is no such thing as a free lunch, as the saying goes: somewhere, someone has to pay for the lunch. Jesus paid the price for our peace with God (and consequently our peace with other people) through His death on the cross.
As a result, we are urged to be peacemakers and to live at peace with everyone as far as possible (see Rom 12:17-19). We are called to imitate God (Eph 5:1), to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt 5:48) We are urged to seek peace and pursue it (Ps 34:14), to embrace it and not let it get away. When we see, as the shepherds in the story by Andrew McDonough saw, that Jesus came to bring us peace, our lives are transformed.