This baby, born for us, is our peace.

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“Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” 
Revelation 22:1 New Living Translation

It’s not necessarily a “peaceful” event to take pictures of waterfalls. The result might cause a calm emotion to rise within us, but walking can be treacherous on the water worn rocks.

Upper North Falls, Silver Falls State Park, Oregon

I was very careful where I stepped on the day that I took this picture of the Upper North Falls on Silver Creek. It was going to take some care and route planning to walk to the spot I’d hope to place my tripod. Though my camera gear is not expensive compared to other photographers, it’s priceless to me. I was carrying this gear on my back and I wanted to make sure it stayed dry.

For my gear to survive, I had to sacrifice my feet and walk through cold water, not taking a chance that I’d slip on the exposed rocks which were covered with a layer of moisture from the waterfall.

Peace comes at a sacrifice – not ours, but Christ’s. His precious cargo is not camera gear but people who have been enslaved to sin. He walked through the water of his own baptism that we might be saved. His baptism was not only that which he received at the Jordan River, but his baptism in blood. The baby whose birth we’re about to celebrate came to die that we might experience peace.

“I’ve got peace like a river,
I’ve got peace like a river,
I’ve got peace like a river in my soul,
I’ve got peace like a river,
I’ve got peace like a river,
I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.”

One day we will experience the “water of life” flowing from the Lamb. All we will know in that day is peace.

Text and Picture Copyright Douglas P Brauner