At Peace with God and Man, January 10

Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy. Proverbs 12:20.RRe 12.1

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.—Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 27.RRe 12.2

“Blessed are the peacemakers.” The peace of Christ is born of truth. It is harmony with God. The world is at enmity with the law of God; sinners are at enmity with their Maker; and as a result they are at enmity with one another. But the psalmist declares, “Great peace have they which love Thy law; and nothing shall offend them.” Men cannot manufacture peace. Human plans for the purification and uplifting of individuals or of society will fail of producing peace, because they do not reach the heart. The only power that can create or perpetuate true peace is the grace of Christ. When this is implanted in the heart, it will cast out the evil passions that cause strife and dissension. “Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree”; and life’s desert “shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.”—The Desire of Ages, 302-305.RRe 12.3