Nothing in human experience is more to be desired than peace; yet nothing seems to be more generally lacking. Individual peace, collective peace,—both are sought in devious ways, but neither is obtained satisfactorily. Many are the discords which strike at the peace of mortals; and many are the heart-rendings and terrors occasioned thereby. Thumoil, strife, pain, disease, disaster, form a sorry part of everyday existence; and it is from these that men and women would have deliverance.
Knowing that from the beginning of time there had been apparent no universal peace, and knowing, too, that Christ Jesus, as the Messiah, would point the way to it, Isaiah rightly styled him "The Prince of Peace." As we study and ponder the life and works of the Master, we are unspeakably impressed by the concord which characterized his daily activities, and gave him matchless poise and patience. Jesus knew full well that in the kingdom of God—the only real kingdom—there could not possibly be anything disquieting or discordant, and that all must naturally be peaceful. And so, in revealing this kingdom to mortal thought, he disclosed the peace of God, which, indeed, transcended human understanding.
Jesus was the most practical metaphysician who has ever lived; consequently, the most successful man in history. Continually looking away from the physical, meterial sense of things, he reasoned and worked from a purely apiritual basis. He understood that God is divine Mind, Principle, and that God's creation—the universe, including individual man—is the reflection or manifestation of God's own nature, and is as perfect as the Father Himself. This was the eternal rock of truth on which the Master stood; and nothing could dislodge him. The truth was his fortress, his shield, and his buckler,—his never failing security and protection. When the storms of mortal sense raged about him, and the struggles and woes of carnality threatened him, he turned fearlessly to divine Principle, and won marvelous victories. When erroneous suggestions tried to influence him; when discouragement and despair endeavored to hinder him; when obstacles and alleged impossibilities sought to defeat him; when the combined forces of evil strove to overwhelm him and thus rob him of all that was good, harmonious, and blessed, he held fast to God, and found that perfect peace and rest which has ever since been the wonder of a world. "The Prince of Peace"—how beautifully applicable are those terms!
