Christ Jesus came as the great peacemaker, reconciling man to God. The angelic overture heralding his birth was, "On earth peace, good will toward men." ^{Luke 2:14;} The beloved Way-shower so understood the peace he loved that he said, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." ^{Matt. 5:9;}

True peace is synonymous with the absolute harmony of being; it is the evidence of the omnipresence of God, good. Right here and now in the ever-present realm of harmony, man, the image and likeness of divine Mind, effortlessly reflects all that God is and has. This truly is the only real basis of peace. Christian Science teaches Jesus' method of peacemaking so simply that all may prove its rule for themselves.

Christian Science makes peacemakers of men. In meekness, love, charity, and kindness genuine students of this science endeavor to bring peace into their own lives and share this gracious tranquillity with others, thus realizing harmony instead of discord, health instead of sickness, life instead of death. How gently the dove of peace descends and rests upon peacemakers!

Are our thoughts those of a peacemaker or those of a troublemaker? How composed and disciplined are our thoughts? Do we remain calm and unagitated in midst of mortal mind aggression, commotion, or excitement? Christian Science calls upon its students to avoid contentions, heal variances, check foolish and unnecessary debate, terminate strife, and recognize amity and peace as the reality of the spiritual man's true being.

Peace, the eternal fact of God's perfectly coordinated universe of spiritual ideas, is forever intact and omnipresent; it continues undisturbed midst the sometimes turbulent ocean of human events. That this peace is available was proved by the writer in the following incident. Friends were gaily chatting while seated around a picnic table one lovely summer day. It was the year of national elections, and political feeling was running high. Suddenly an argumentative tone, which is always the mark of personal sense or personal opinion, threatened to disrupt the harmony of the congenial and happy group.

The writer, intuitively recognizing the warning signals of approaching dissension, turned at once to God. She recalled the Bible promise, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee," ^{Isa. 26:3;} and also Mrs. Eddy's stirring words: "This material world is even now becoming the arena for conflicting forces. On one side there will be discord and dismay; on the other side there will be Science and peace." ^{Science and Health, p. 96;}

She prayed that through the omnipotence of the presence of the Christ, Truth, they might all be enabled to see evidence of the peace that comes from God. Quietly she kept her thoughts on the side of "Science and peace," knowing that in divine Love all God's children dwell together in harmony, peace, and unity. Because she recognized that divine Mind unfolds peace in the serene atmosphere of Soul, it became inconceivable to her that a happy day could end in a troublesome and unprofitable political dispute. As the controversy appeared to increase instead of decrease in intensity, the student thought, "If only I could say something so profound and metaphysical that it would cause a deep hush!" As she waited on God, Mrs. Eddy's words came to her, "When error strives to be heard above Truth, let the 'still small voice' produce God's phenomena." ^{The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 249.}

The answer to her prayer came in a most unexpected way, as simple as it was profound. Suddenly a hush fell upon the group as a tiny baby squirrel appeared from the depths of a nearby wood. So free and fearless was it that it hopped up on the table to beg for picnic morsels. Soon everybody was laughing over the friendly antics of the silvery visitor.

This simple manifestation of friendliness presented through one of God's lesser ideas was all that was needed to break the mesmeric illusion of "discord and dismay." The threatening discussion was forgotten, and the rest of the day was joyous and serene.

Through a clear perception of God, and thereby of himself as God's image and likeness, the Christian Scientist gains his God-given dominion over any situation. His reactions in moments of self-opinionated controversy become God-determined rather than humanly outlined. He learns to avoid mental collisions, to become oblivious to the nudges of error to pick up a cudgel or would-be inharmony, be it in the form of gossip, slander, or the tyranny of personalized motives. Have we not all witnessed an occasion when, though no act is performed, no word spoken, one whose thought is imbued with the Christ-idea, whose heart is close to God, divine Love, and is filled with love to all, exerts an influence for peace on all those with whom he comes in contact?

Even though we may not be called upon to act as peacemakers in national or international affairs, as true followers of the Master each may do his part in bringing "on earth peace, good will toward men." Let all our thoughts be peacemaking, thoughts that we may be truly blessed: "the children of God"!