A King Is Born ~ the Prince of PeaceÖrnek

Peacemakers There is something in the air during Christmas time, even the ‘world’ can’t help but be influenced by the spirit of goodwill. Christmas is a great time to be generous and charitable. But even these good gifts can be tainted, if we attach earthly wisdom to our deeds, instead of keeping heaven in mind when we give in to the season of giving and cheer. Do we put Christmas lights up at our homes because we want to bring cheer to the onlookers, or do we do it because we don’t want to be upstaged by our neighbour? Do we give a gift to a relative or friend because they gave us a gift last year, or do we give freely without any conditions? When we give or do good deeds, while we harbour envy or have selfish ambition, we cannot be the peacemakers God wishes us to be. How can we be ‘princes of peace’ and reflect Christ in us? It always stems from humility. When we understand that all we are and have are gifts from God, then it guides our actions to always be ‘ pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere’ (James 3:17). Everything we do is a choice. The choice is a seed, and that seed will reap a harvest. If we sow peace with our choices – even the smallest ones, like not taking credit for a complement accidentally given to someone else for the Pavlova you spent hours to craft – we will be peacemakers who sow in peace and reap a harvest of righteousness (James 3:18).