Peace on earth- U2

"Heaven on earth We need it now I'm sick of all of this Hanging around Sick of sorrow Sick of pain Sick of hearing again and again That there's gonna be Peace on earth"

I believe that if we are honest with ourselves, we find ourselves wrestling with questions regarding the chaos and strife of life. We see people. struggling with life, longing for purpose and meaning. We face people grieving over the loss of a loved one or even just someone in their life struggling. Then as we look to the world, we see war. Terror. Suffering. Political tensions. Too often, I fear, we forgot that behind the news stories are real people just you and me. Peace on earth is a thing we want the most in this life, but it seems just far from our grasp.

"Jesus, in the song you wrote The words are sticking in my throat Peace on earth Hear it every Christmas time But hope and history won't rhyme So what's it worth? This peace on earth"

I spent 6 months in 2011 in Kenya with a mission agency called Christian Missionary Fellowship. I worked in the slums of Mathare Valley in Nairobi and saw suffering on a day to day basis. Children dying. Families suffering from poverty. Corruption affecting the lives of people in a real and impactful way. It was almost deafening and if I am honest, made me wonder or at least question the existence of God.

However, then in the middle of my questions and fears, I saw hope. I saw God raising in the middle of them and saying, " I am hope. I am with these people just as I am with you". I have countless stories of God bringing hope out of hopeless circumstances. Renewed and restored Hope from God given to the lives of others.

It does not mean that hope ignores the questions and doubts that we face. It is that hope in Jesus gives us a anchor in the storms of this life. We have the promise of Jesus that one day he will wipe every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death or pain or suffering. He will make everything new. (Revelation 21:4-5)

At the end of time, God will bring heaven to earth and it is only then, we will find true and everlasting peace. But until that day, we can find peace on earth through a loving relationship with God. A relationship that will give us meaning, purpose, and significance. However, we also find a God that stays with us not just in the good of life, but the storms of life.