Making peace with Him for the holidays

For me and my wife, picking out a name for our children is no easy task. When we were told that she was pregnant with a girl, the first thing we did was start a list of possible names.

After months of kicking around different names, we chose Hanna Ruth. Little did we know God had a different name in mind when He surprised us with our second little boy. While my wife was still in the recovery room, a very insistent nurse asked me to come up with a name for the certificate. The big decision was on me to pick a name, and I am proud to say I named him Isaiah Daniel.

There is so much in a name. Names have different meanings, and it is by your name that you will be identified for your whole life. In Isaiah 9:6, the baby is given several different names that would describe who he is and what he would do.

"And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." The name that sticks out to me the most is "Prince of Peace." This is not a peace as the world would understand it, but a peace with God that transcends all understanding.

During this time of year, you see people doing many different things in order to find peace, from donating to different charities, buying toys for children in need, and making the twice-a-year trip to church. Millions are seeking peace with God by good works. There is no good work that we can do to have peace with God. We all sin and fall short of His glory, and sin separates us from the Holy God.

God chose Jesus Christ to reunite all things to Him " ... by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross." Colossians 1:20. We can find the peace that transcends all understanding by looking to Jesus, who saves his people from their sin.

He truly is the Prince of Peace. This Christmas, celebrate His birth. Celebrate the day the Mighty God left heaven to become a man and suffer and die on the cross so we may have peace with God.

n Michael Hurlbert is youth pastor at First Christian Church in Carson City.