Peace on earth should be the consummation of right human endeavor. Peace was proclaimed to men by a heavenly multitude in the announcement of the birth of the Prince of Peace, as recounted in the gospel of Luke. The method of its consummation is fully revealed in the ministry of Christ Jesus by the love and understanding that overcome every form of evil,—sin, sickness, and death; and by these results it is shown to be a present, not merely a future, possibility. If the spiritual power to master evil belief of every kind were not available to men now, then there would be no assurance of peace on earth.
The New Testament repeatedly makes clear that the peace which the Master disclosed and commended to his followers can be gained by them; but only by using his methods. His is the way of living faith, spiritual understanding, and brotherly love. The belief that this knowing, living, and healing is of the past, can come only from lack of understanding, and from a formal or dead faith. But such a faith is infinitely removed from the eternal truth which Christ Jesus demonstrated.
Peace on earth must be the inevitable result of the understanding and practice of Christianity, as the Saviour brought it to light for the guidance of humanity. This teaching has been accurately restated in, and can be convincingly demonstrated through, Christian Science; and, although it is spiritual and not material, metaphysical and not physical, it is found to be none the less practical for mankind. The divine Principle of Christian Science is "the God of peace," whose kingdom is come, and whose will is done "in earth, as it is in heaven."
