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first appear to be a happy one. The confusion, catastrophe, bloodshed, tur moil, warfare, will continue only until the whole of man’s order of things is an utter failure. Then Jehovah brings upon the scene His Man, the rejected Saviour Jesus, and upon the miserable ruins of everything human He establishes His everlasting kingdom of peace. Glorious day! For the Leader 1. Be careful to guard this meeting against such useless discussion as the "Christian’s attitude toward going to war.” Keep to the point. 2. Let the young people of the group suggest all'verses dealing with the sub ject of “ peace” (from memory or con cordances, such as John 16: 33, etc.), and classify them as to their relation: a. To the individual heart. Jesus Christ is our supreme example of a gracious personality (Lk. 4:22; 1 Pet. 2:3). As His followers, we, too, are expected to be gracious. Titus 2:10 speaks of adorning the doctrine of God. Can we say, “All that I am, I owe to Jesus,” and then go about living a cramped, negative, unattractive life ? Would this be glorifying to the One who came that we might have life more abundantly (John 10:10) ? S o m e who will not listen to words spoken about Christ and have no time to read the Scriptures concerning Him, will gain their only knowledge of Him through contact with the lives of His gracious followers. For Those Who Have Topics I. GRACIOUS IN MIND. Christ was crucified on a hill called Golgotha—the place of a skull—andk in the years between that time and the present, He has Often been crucified afresh on another Golgotha—the mind of man. It is easy for us as Christians to see how the Lord must be made to suffer by an unbelieving and skeptical mind, but how often do we ourselves grieve the Lord by a lack of gracious ness in our thoughts? The mind sur rendered to Christ will be gracious. There will be no unjust judging of others, no strife, and no intolerance— characteristics which are especially un attractive in a Christian. (See Philip- pians 2:5-8, humble-mindecjness; 2 Tim othy 2:24, 25, gentle-mindedness; 2 Co rinthians 13:11, one-mindedness.) H. GRACIOUS IN HEART. v , According to our Scripture passage, a heart filled with envying and strife is b. To the brethren. c. To the nations. d. To the Lord Jesus. NOVEMBER 16, 1941 A CHRISTIAN IS GRACIOUS J ames 3 :13-18 By Mary Frances Redding Introduction
and education, etc., but on the basis of relationship to God. When men are all right with God, they will be all right with one another. It is only misguided and wishful thinking to talk about achievement of peace by the “practice of brotherhood,” so long as men will fully reject the only basis of brother hood—being born into God’s family by faith in His dear Son. Note John 1:12. Nevertheless, there are some things about “peace” of which we may be abso lutely certain. For Those Who Have Topics I. IT IS POSSIBLE TO HAVE PEACE IN OUR HEARTS. But this fact is conditional: 1. Peace of heart depends entirely on personal relationship with God. Note Romans 5:1; Isaiah 57:20, 21. 2. Peace of heart comes when the sin question is fully settled. Note Colossians 1:20. Amid the crash of empires, the overturning of cherished institutions an<} foundations, the internal moral and economic corruption, it is wonderful to have, not only peace “ with” God (Rom. 5:1), but also the very peace !‘of” God (Phil. 4:7). II. IT IS POSSIBLE TO HAVE PEACE WITH THOSE AROUND US. But this fact is conditional: 1. We must be members of the same realm and family. Note John 3:7; cf. vs. 3 and 5; 2 Corinthians 6:14-16; 5:17. 2. We must be yielded to the will of God and live in obedience to the Lord Jesus (1 John 1:7). 3. We must have "something” in common (John 14:16, 17), and speak the “same language” (Amos 3:3). IH. IT IS POSSIBLE TO HAVE PEACE AMONG ALL NATIONS. But this fact is conditional: 1. Unfortunately, Christian Endeav- orers were led to choose as a slogan for 1922, “A Warless World.” The Scrip tures reveal that wars will continue un til the Lord Jesus Christ comes back to earth—He alone can make peace. Note Zechariah 9:10, where “the heathen” means "the nations” (R. V.). The long vacant and useless three-million-dollar Peace Palace in The Hague is a silent witness to the truth of God’s Word that man’s efforts cannot secure permanent peace for this earth. 2. In fact, He is Peace. Note Micah 5:5. a. See Isaiah 9:6 where His name is “Prince of Peace.” b. See Luke 2:14 where we are told He came to bring “peace.” c. Note also Acts 10:36. (What ap pears to contradict this in Matthew 10:34 really confirms it! Christ’s mis sion was “peace,” but men’s refusal of Him makes “peace” impossible—and they suffer the sword instead.) d. Let us not be misled by the fact that the Scriptural outlook does not at
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