The Peacemaker

ISAIAH'S powerful prophecy of the coming of the Messiah, refers to the Saviour as ``The Prince of Peace.'' Are we today alive to the work of this Scriptural promise of the ``Prince of Peace'' as he lays the spiritual groundwork for peace not only in our own hearts but also in the larger world? This heavenly peacemaker, Christ, is the divine power which is bringing healing light to human thought. The peace Christ brings is not only the disappearance of conflict but also the redeeming of our own natures from sinful thinking. Jesus showed us the power of this peace-giving Christ more clearly than anyone else ever has or ever will. Christ, which includes this peacemaking power, is the divine idea of God, active today as in Jesus' time. Christ Jesus himself said, as Matthew tells us, ``Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.''

Christ, which comes from an all-powerful God, is active in thought -- has healing impact. Christ is a peacemaker with teeth, so to speak. Christ is the divine message, affirming that man is made in God's image. By healing, Christ lifts thought above sin and conflict and purifies our affections. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, explains in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, ``Christ is the true idea voicing good, the divine message from God to men speaking to the human conscious-ness.'' The peace Christ brings always results in a stronger grasp of who we are as the spiritual man of God's creating. Because our genuine, God-derived identity is naturally good and free from sin, we can expect our own lives to take on more purity and sinlessness as we understand and live in accord with this fact.

This places the peacemaking of the Christ on solid, spiritual ground. And we see that it's more than just a holding action among people or nations. Christ heals thought on an individual basis and in this way provides the basis for real peace, starting with the individual. Since the source of the Christ is God Himself, the peace Christ brings carries all the power and permanence of God with it. Just how Christ brings peace varies with each case, of course. Christ comes to each of us in ways that specifically guide our thought toward Truth. Christ always promotes brotherhood, understanding, cooperation, meekness, and love.

Let's not forget our work in this peacemaking process! Since Christ is always healing, peacemaking is always going forward. Nothing can deny it, in the end. But we can experience its effects more fully in our own lives when we wholeheartedly embrace what Christ, Truth, is saying about God and man.

Suppose, for example, we suddenly found ourselves responsible for working out a peace agreement between two neighboring nations. We would quickly have to get serious about peacemaking, whatever the sacrifice, wouldn't we? No doubt, we would learn to value each small step of progress toward peace.

Of course, there are roadblocks. When it comes to finding and living peace, we need to guard our thinking carefully and be sure that self-centered motives aren't masking the peace Christ brings. No doubt about it, this can be a demanding task! We need often to root out the belief, lodged in conventional thought, that conflict is somehow a sad necessity.

But conflict is never part of God's plan. And the God-given path of spiritual peacemaking is always at hand for us to choose. It's something we can begin at any time because it's between us and God. It doesn't depend at all on someone else.

This habit of choosing the path to peace can be cultivated. Then we will have earned the gift of peace that the heavenly peacemaker gives.