Basic HTML Version
Christ “The Prince of Peace”, January 24
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Matthew 5:9
.
Christ is “The Prince of Peace” (
Isaiah 9:6
), and it is His mission to restore to
earth and heaven the peace that sin has broken. “Being justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (
Romans 5:1
). Whoever consents
to renounce sin and open his heart to the love of Christ becomes a partaker of this
heavenly peace.
There is no other ground of peace than this. The grace of Christ, received into
the heart, subdues enmity; it allays strife and fills the soul with love. He who is
at peace with God and his fellow men cannot be made miserable. Envy will not
be in his heart; evil surmisings will find no room there; hatred cannot exist. The
heart that is in harmony with God is a partaker of the peace of heaven and will
diffuse its blessed influence on all around. The spirit of peace will rest like dew
upon hearts weary and troubled with worldly strife.
Christ’s followers are sent to the world with the message of peace. Whoever,
by the quiet, unconscious influence of a holy life, shall reveal the love of Christ;
whoever, by word or deed, shall lead another to renounce sin and yield his heart to
God, is a peacemaker.
And “blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of
God.” The spirit of peace is evidence of their connection with heaven. The sweet
savor of Christ surrounds them. The fragrance of the life, the loveliness of the
character, reveal to the world the fact that they are children of God. Men take
knowledge of them that they have been with Jesus....
“And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from
the Lord, as the showers upon the grass” (
Micah 5:7
).—
Thoughts from the Mount
of Blessing, 27, 28
.
When Isaiah foretold the birth of the Messiah, he ascribed to Him the title,
“Prince of Peace.” When angels announced to the shepherds that Christ was born,
they sang above the plains of Bethlehem: “Glory to God in the highest, and on
earth peace, good will toward men” (
Luke 2:14
).
There is a seeming contradiction between these prophetic declarations and the
words of Christ: “I came not to send peace, but a sword” (
Matthew 10:34
). But,
rightly understood, the two are in perfect harmony. The gospel is a message of
peace. Christianity is a system which, received and obeyed, would spread peace,
harmony, and happiness throughout the earth. The religion of Christ will unite
in close brotherhood all who accept its teachings. It was the mission of Jesus to
reconcile men to God, and thus to one another.—
The Great Controversy, 46, 47
.
[39]
29