Have you heard of Hiroo Onoda? He was the last Japanese soldier to surrender in World War 2. But he didn’t wave a white flag in 1945. Hiroo held out for nearly 30 years deep in the Philippine jungles of Lubang. 

Obeying orders, he refused to surrender under any circumstances—including villagers leaving notes declaring that the war was over, the Japanese government dropping flyers from the sky ordering his return, and his own family sending search parties to locate him.

But Hiroo thought it was a trick, enemy propaganda to lure him into surrender—and slavery. He hid out for 28 years in the dense mountains, stealing food, terrorizing natives, and continuing to fight a battle he had no clue was over. 

He was oblivious that peace treaties had been negotiated. Soldiers had returned home, enjoying peace for over two decades. But not for Hiroo. He was still very much at war. 

He remained in hiding, fearful of discovery. Fearful of capture. Fearful of defeat. It wasn’t much of a life. Always looking over his shoulder, fearing his capture would come but secretly wishing it would. A paranoid existence.     

Finally, in 1974, a hippie found him. They became friends and he convinced Hiroo that the war was really over. Hiroo would surrender only under one condition: his commanding officer must personally relieve him of duty. The Japanese army found his commander, flew him to the island, and after nearly three decades of fighting, Hiroo surrendered.    

Witnesses say he wept uncontrollably as he handed over his weapons—relieved to come out of hiding. No more fear. No more shame. No more hiding. Finally….peace.  

Christmas is the end of war. That’s what the angel told the shepherds. “Peace on earth.” But the angel wasn’t talking about humans fighting each other. No. He meant our war with God. It’s over. But not because we negotiated some kind of peace treaty. We didn’t. We couldn’t. We wouldn’t.  

No, God initiated peace. From heaven, 2,000 years ago. He didn’t send us a plan for peace. He sent us a person of peace. Jesus, savior of the world. The prince of peace. He came to trade places with guilty, rebellious sinners like you and me. That’s Christmas.   

But like Hiroo, we sometimes refuse to believe the war is over. We hide from God. We hide from others. We even hide from ourselves. Fearing discovery. Fearing capture. Fearing judgment. That’s why Christmas is so important. It’s a beautiful, powerful reminder that the war is over. We have peace with God through Jesus. What a Christmas gift! Join the Shepherds, make haste and worship. Merry Christmas!

To listen to the full Advent series, click here.