Some Christmas cards show a lamb resting across the paws of a lion.  Needless to say, lambs do not normally last long in the presence of a lion. 

The idea of the lion and the lamb probably comes from the prophesies concerning Christ found in Isaiah 11:  “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.” 

Under Christ’s Kingdom, the rich are not to exploit the poor and the mighty are not to dominate the weak.  But the fact is, the “peace on earth” the angels sang about at Christ’s birth is often about as elusive as a snowflake in July. 

Did Isaiah make a mistake when he prophesied?  Are Christmas cards of the lion and the lamb resting together in peace just a figment of our imagination – a type of religious Santa Claus? 

Our problem is that we tend to judge most things only by what we can actually see.  Sometimes by waiting we discover that there is more to the story than we first thought.   In this case, Isaiah was prophesying of more than just the events of the first Christmas.  Christ has come, but the total effects of his coming are not evident yet. 

The Bible says that Christ will make a second visit to earth.  The Second Coming will not be like the first one.  There will be no manger, no humble carpenter, no cross.  The second time Christ will come to destroy Satan, to defeat evil, and to set up a righteous kingdom. 

Then there will be no more war, discrimination, hatred or injustice.  The mighty will not dominate the weak; the poor will be as secure as the rich. 

Since that day has not yet come, our task as Christians is to speed its coming by living holy and godly lives. (2 Peter 3:11-12). 

On the first Christmas Day of World War I, British and German troops stopped fighting long enough to celebrate Christmas in their respective trenches.  Since trenches were close enough to hear one another, each side soon realized what the other was doing. 

What happened next gives us a glimpse of the peace on earth that Christ’s coming will ultimately bring.  Private Oswald Tillery, an English soldier wrote to his parents, “While you were eating your turkey, etc., I was out shaking hands with the very men I had been trying to kill a few hours before!!  It was astounding!” 

At that early stage of the war, both sides were well stocked with gifts from home.  The opposing troops exchanged gifts, sang Christmas songs, and even played a brief game of soccer together. 

The soldiers quickly discovered that their enemies were much like them and began asking why they were trying to kill each other. 

The officers realized that war cannot be maintained in a spirit of love and acceptance.  Three days later, the British general prohibited all fraternizing with the enemy. 

Perhaps an opportunity was missed that Christmas Day in 1914 to bring the countries of the world together.  That opportunity is passed, but the opportunity to bury hatred and forgive one another is still ours today.  “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.”