The prophet Isaiah wrote of the coming Messiah as the "Prince of Peace," and the "Prince of Peace" the Messiah truly is when rightly understood and obeyed; but the peace which Christ Jesus came to establish on earth was evidently of a higher order than the sense commonly entertained of it. Speaking to his disciples towards the close of his personal ministry he said, "My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you."
The periods of peace which succeeded past wars were more or less temporary, for the mere cessation of physical conflict does not necessarily result in forgiveness and friendship. Substantial peace is a true state of mind, the product of a genuine Christianization of thought. This has not yet been fully realized, for after almost twenty centuries of the Christian era there is but little evidence of swords being beaten into plowshares or spears into pruning hooks. On the contrary, the nations seem more intent than ever upon learning how to make war surpassingly barbarous and deadly.
But while these excessive preparations for war serve to make the international atmosphere more tense and inflammable, one must look farther for the conditions which lead to armed conflict. When not brought on by tyranny and oppression, the resort to war is generally induced by unrestrained ambition, cupidity, or revenge. But the conquest of one side or the other never results in reconciliation. Rather does it leave a trail of bitterness and resentment which nothing but the influence of divine Love can obliterate and heal.
