Zechariah’s prophecy about Jesus and his son, John, comes to a close with this amazing stanza:
…By which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.
Luke 1: 78b-79
The imagery here is powerful. The “rising sun” coming to us from heaven is visual imagery for the coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
The light from this sun shines on those here on earth living in darkness. The darkness is caused by the shadow of death. Anyone who has lost a loved one to death knows what that feels like.
This light, this Messiah, has come to guide our feet onto the path of peace. Not the path of easy living, but the path of peace.
Q: What is the value of having peace if life is full of pain and suffering?
Peace helps be content among life’s struggles. It helps as endure pain and disappointment.
Great picture by the way!
Peace, well-being, harmony in relationships. Peace with God and others and with our own soul when we look in the mirror. These are longings of the human heart that are ultimately found in Jesus. Peace has great value precisely because like is full of pain and suffering.
It changes the journey, I agree with Rich – the reason peace is so valuable is because life is full of pain and suffering.
On another note we need peace between ourselves and God. Without Jesus – his grace and forgiveness – we are enemies of God. ENEMIES of GOD! More than any other area of brokenness and conflict, a restored relationship with God is our greatest need.
Thank you for the great comments so far! It is like the disciples in the storm when Jesus was sleeping in the back of the boat. They were worried but with a word Jesus calmed the storm. What are we worried about? Really? Our God can speak and the blind are given sight, the lame healed, the mute speak, the deaf hear. More than that with only a word he calls the dead back to life. With power like that, as Nathan says, our only worry is being on the right side of God, in relationship with his son, Jesus!