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September 16, 2021
Scripture
Devotion
In November 2015, three Muslim terrorists opened fire in the Bataclan Theatre in Paris. That day, 90 people were killed in the attack and more than 200 were wounded. The day after, an unnamed man played John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ on a grand piano outside the Bataclan. A video recording of his performance went viral. Many people were touched by this statement of love and hope amidst fear and anger.
Love? Hope? Based on what? The first line of Lennon’s song says, ‘Imagine there’s no heaven.’ And a little later, he sings, ‘Nothing to die or kill for, and no religion too.’ In John Lennon’s understanding, religion is a source of hatred and violence, like peace will follow once people get rid of religion. A song with a painful undertone that echoes in the hearts of many.
In the night that Jesus Christ was born, a huge army of angels sang about a completely different peace, a peace that comes from the heaven that John Lennon denied. A divine peace so special that it needed that glorious celestial choir to properly laud it.
In Luke 2:11, the angel announces the source of that peace, “Today your Savior was born in David’s town.” Because of our sinful nature, we were at war with God. We displeased Him. Jesus came to save us from sin and death. With His sacrifice, He settled the war between God and us. In Christ, we please God again. According to our verse of the day, peace will be the result. Our world is in desperate need of that peace, and the love and hope it entails. Let the words of the angel be our testimony to the people around us!
Whose song do we join today? May the Lord give you peace at all times and in every way.
By Anton de Vreugd, Bible League International staff, The Netherlands
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