Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men?

"Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men."

‭‭– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

It's the season of Advent. The season of hope, peace, joy and love. And yet for some of us, those words seem so at odds with much of what we have seen and experienced this past year. I can't help but sympathize with the words of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his poem I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day, in which he writes: "And in despair I bowed my head; There is no peace on earth, I said; For hate is strong, And mocks the song, Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

And yet, in the midst of a year filled with much hate, division, tragedy and death – the hope, peace, joy and love of Christ are so apparent and real to me. The name Immanuel means "God with us." Psalm 23 says: "even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are WITH me." This is why God sent His son Jesus to earth – so that even in our darkest days, we would truly know and experience the hope, peace, joy and love of Immanuel, God with us.