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Tonight was our second week studying Advent together as a church. Week 2 was all about the peace that Christ has brought and will bring. I will share one small thought tonight, and then I will be done.
I think we all got a new perspective of the peace of Christ. We sometimes think of peace during the Christmas season as peace among nations and mankind…in other words…no more war. But we rarely consider the fact that in our depraved state, we were once at war with God, and that Christ has come to bring peace in this relationship as well.
In fact, Christ has come to restore peace to all of creation. This, of course, makes me think of my hounds…what’s new!? Ok…here’s why…creation has been curse by sin, and as a result of this animals kill and eat other animals for food. Hounds, for examples, hunt rabbits. Well, some of them do, anyways. The ones that are real sport hounds and not just house hounds.
The point I am trying to make is that one day Christ will bring peace to all of creation. Even the hound-rabbit relationship! But peace cannot be restored in the animal kingdom simply by the animals deciding not to eat each other anymore. Something has to be changed about the nature of the animals.
This is also true in restoring our peace with God by repentance. We have all been taught to repent, but we have mostly been taught that we just tell God we are sorry for our sins, and that is all there is to it. However, just as the animal relationship must be changed all together, we must also be changed. Repentance is more than simply telling God you are sorry and asking him to forgive.
As we prepare our hearts to celebrate the coming of Jesus this season, let us truly repent. Ask God to change the way you are. Ask him to change your heart.