Imagine looking in your e-mail inbox to find this message: "Peace is awaiting you at this very moment. A peace that will answer all your needs. A peace that's available to everybody."
A modest group of Middle Eastern shepherds did receive such a message one night, though it was well before the age of computers or e-mail; it happened over 2,000 years ago. The shepherds were on night watch, keeping an eye on their flocks, when a visiting angel announced to them the birth of the Saviour of the world. A "multitude of the heavenly host," as the Gospel of Luke recounts, then gave a blessing of "on earth peace, good will towards men." Luke 2:13. 14. These two angelic messages signified a special connection between the coming of the Saviour and the establishment of peace for all time.
The concept of peace itself was not a new idea. Countless Old Testament stories attest to feuds healed within families, chains of slavery broken, sustenance found in the face of famine, protection from violence, and healing of disease. In the days of Old Testament patriarchy, however, many people felt that the peace of God—His divine protection and care for His creation—belonged only to a chosen few who enjoyed a special relationship to God. But this first Christmas announcement to the shepherds challenged that exclusionary view. It said that the Saviour had come to bring salvation to all.
