being a sinner? After many
years of a Christian profession, am I coming at last to see that above
all else my life has been a life of sin, of shortcoming or evasion of
duty, of deep consideration for my own pleasure or my own purpose, and
utter or comparative regardlessness of God? Are the slowly evolving
circumstances of my life at length effecting what no preaching has ever
effected? are they making me understand that sin is the real evil, and
that I am beset by it and my destiny entangled and ruled by it? To me,
then, what offer could be more appropriate than the offer of peace? From
all fear of God and of myself I am called to peace in Christ.

Reconcilement with God is the foundation, manifestly and of course, of
all peace; and this we have as Christ's direct gift to us. But this
fundamental peace, though it will eventually pervade the whole man, does
in point of fact only slowly develop into a peace such as our Lord
Himself possessed. The peace which our Lord spoke of to His disciples,
peace amidst all the ills of life, can only be attained by a real
following of Christ, and a hearty and profound acceptance of His
principles and spirit. And it is not the less His gift because we have
thus to work for it, to alter or be altered wholly in our own inward
being. It is not therefore a deceptive bequest. When the father gives
his son a good education, he cannot do so irrespective of the hard work
of the son himself. When the general promises victory to his men, they
do not expect to have it without fighting. And our Lord does not upset
or supersede the fundamental laws of our nature and of our spiritual
growth. He does not make effort of our own unnecessary; He does not give
us a ready-made character irrespective of the laws by which character
grows, irrespective of deep-seated thirst for holiness in ourselves and
long-sustained conflict with outward obstacles and internal weaknesses
and infidelities.

But He helps us to peace, not only though primarily by bringing us back
to God's favour, but also by showing us in His own person and life how
peace is attained and preserved, and by communicating to us His Spirit
to aid us in our efforts to attain it. He found out more perfectly than
any one else the secret of peace; and we are stirred by His example and
success, not only as we are stirred by the example of any dead saint or
sage with whom we have no present personal living fellowship, but as we
are stirred by the examp