Grace Has the Final Word
Tuesday’s Verse:
From Luke 2:14 NKJV
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
“What is your favorite Bible verse?” If you’re like me, you have a whole list! Some of my favorites include: Romans 3:28; Matthew 28:19; Matthew 5:14; John 14:6; Philippians 4:13; and Ephesians 2:8. We should all have at least one Bible verse that we can call a favorite.
At the cancer center, one of the workers came into the treatment room to change a bulb in the restroom. Stunned to see that I was a clergyman, he turned to me and said, “Oh, Father, sorry to bother you. But one of the bulbs went out.” Telling him that he was doing an important job, which was critical to patients like me who most likely needed to run in there and vomit and need the light to find the toilet, he smiled.
Then, as he went to leave, he turned to me and said, “My favorite Bible verse is Luke 2:14. The one where the angels were singing to the shepherds about Jesus’ birth.”
When we consider that moment in time, the world was a dark place, yet the heavens opened and the angels came to sing. Not to sing to kings or religious scholars, but to lowly shepherds tending their flock by night in the fields. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
This is not a scene from a Hallmark Christmas movie. It is the heart of the Gospel. The birth of Jesus Christ—God in flesh—brought what we could never reach: peace with God. Real peace. The kind that goes deeper than a quiet evening or a calm mind. This is reconciliation between heaven and earth.
Luther put it plainly: “The angels do not merely sing that Christ is born; they preach a sermon about what His birth means.” That sermon is peace—not because we deserve it, but because God willed it.
“Goodwill toward men” means God has turned His face toward us in grace. Not in wrath. Not in condemnation. But in love. In Jesus, God declares peace, even in the midst of cancer, grief, or fear.
This verse should be everyone’s favorite. It’s the whole Gospel in one breath. As we walk toward Thanksgiving and the Advent season, let us hold fast to this Gospel verse. It tells of the Glory to God, because He has come to us; Peace on earth, because Christ is here; and Goodwill to all, because grace has the final word.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Lord God, as we come ever so quickly to the season of joy, we praise You for the gift of Your Son. In Him, You have reconciled us to Yourself. Grant us to abide in that peace, even when the world around us is disturbed. Fill our hearts with the assurance of Your goodwill, and let us show the same grace to others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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