I had a conversation a while back with a guy who said he never knew what it meant when he heard the words, “Let There Be Peace On Earth.” That’s because he never felt any kind of inner peace himself.
He’d spent years running from any darkness he encountered, believing it would go away if he made just the right kind of money, had the right kind of job, or had his regular fill of the right kind of beverage.
But then one day a year ago he hit rock bottom, and from there he had no choice but to look up. And that’s when he said he found it.
Peace. Perspective. Patience. He said these now give him the Power to Persevere through life’s difficult moments, without anything artificial. He spends a lot of his time now helping other people who have also hit rock bottom.
I thought of him the other night as I was driving on a road just outside of Waynesville, when the light of the Lyle United Methodist Church served as a beacon on a cold, dark, wintery night.
It’s what I think about this Christmas, when I think of so many people who are in the midst of darkness. They are trapped by hate, by addiction, and some by their affluence.
“Let There Be Peace On Earth.” That's the message of Christmas, and it is available for anyone who chooses to be humble.
Find the Light. Then be the Light.