On Christmas Day, 1914, in the frozen fields of Flanders, something astonishing happened. Amid mud, misery and the machinery of war, the guns fell silent. German and British soldiers, enemies by orders, strangers by birth, stepped out of their trenches. They exchanged handshakes, hymns, cigarettes, even a football. For a brief moment, the war paused, because Christmas arrived.

History calls it the Christmas Truce. Heaven might simply call it a whisper of what the world longs for: peace.

Peace Has a Name

The world often treats peace as a feeling, a ceasefire, or a fleeting moment of calm. But Scripture reveals peace not as an abstract idea, but as a Person.

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6

In 1914, peace came for a day. In Christ, peace came for eternity. The truce was temporary; the Prince of Peace is everlasting.

Peace Silences Hostility

The soldiers didn’t negotiate that morning. No diplomats drafted the terms. Peace erupted because the day itself disarmed hatred, if only briefly.

Paul describes the greater Truce Christ accomplished.

“For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,
by abolishing in His flesh the enmity…”
Ephesians 2:14–15

Jesus didn’t just pause hostility; He broke its power. He tore down walls between nations, races, classes and even between sinners and God.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 5:1

The 1914 truce reunited men across a battlefield. Christ reunites humanity with God across a chasm no man could cross.

Peace Leads Us Toward Enemy-Love

Many accounts of the truce include soldiers saying it felt unnatural to shoot a man they’d sung with hours earlier. Shared worship stirred reluctant mercy. Yet Jesus commands something higher than reluctant mercy, radical love.

“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Matthew 5:44

The truce showed men acting better than the moment demanded. The Gospel calls believers to live better than our flesh desires, not for a moment, but for a lifetime.

When peace rules the heart, we can look at an enemy and remember they’re an image-bearer of God before they’re an opponent.

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Romans 12:21

Good overcomes. Peace overcomes. Christ overcomes.

Peace Is Most Powerful in Dark Places

The truce didn’t happen in a palace or parliament. It happened on the most unlikely of places, a battlefield, cold, dark, and a hopeless place. That’s exactly where Christ enters.

“The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
John 1:5

The night of Jesus’ birth was quiet, but it was not gentle: occupied land, taxed poverty, anxious parents, and a manger for a cradle. Yet peace was born there, because peace thrives where it is needed most.

Peace Demands a Response

Not all soldiers joined the truce. Some watched from a distance. Peace was offered, but participation required stepping out of the trench.

Christmas still offers that same invitation. Peace is extended, but you must step toward Him.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28

The battlefield of 1914 teaches us: peace is costly, brave, and personal. Christ teaches us more: peace is sacrificial, victorious, and divine.

A Prayer for Christmas Day

Lord,
Let the hush of that 1914 morning remind us of the greater peace You won.
Where there is hatred, sow Your love in us.
Where there is hostility, build Your unity in us.
Where there is war, whisper Your Gospel through us.
Make us people who don’t just admire peace from afar, but walk into it, live in it, and share it.
Fix our fascination on the King of grace.
In the name of the Prince of Peace,
Amen.