War, either cold or hot, has plagued the earth incessantly from the day Cain slew Abel to the present moment; but never before in the history of the race have there been such deep hatreds, such alienation of hearts, such suspicion, such bitter accusations, such threats, such frenetic competition to perfect and pile up horror weapons capable of wiping out whole cities instantaneously.

For the first time in human history the language of generals and statesmen is beginning to sound like the Apocalypse, and the frightening thing is that science has given the war lords the power to bring apocalyptic destruction upon the world.

Science, the sweet talking goddess which but a short time ago smilingly disposed of the Bible as a trustworthy guide and took the world by the hand to lead it into a man-made millennium, has turned out to be a dragon capable of destroying that same world with a flick of her fiery tail.

The world talks of peace, and by peace it means the absence of war. What it overlooks is that there is another meaning of the word, namely, tranquility of heart, and without that kind of peace the peace of the world will continue to be but an unattainable dream. As long as peace between nations continues to depend upon the shifting moods of choleric old men filled with hatred and frustration at their approaching dissolution, and who are ready to pull the world down with them into the bottomless pit, just that long will there be no peace among nations.

In spite of all the books lately published, inward tranquility cannot be found on the earth. Peace has fled the halls of learning and if found at all is found now among the lowly. Once men sought philosophy as a way of life; from her they learned to be satisfied with their lot resigned and patient with men and with nature. Socrates, Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus - these could teach Khrushchev, Nasser and Tito, but from such as these such as they will not learn. Hate, greed, megalomania and the mad ambition that in every generation "o'erleaps itself" drive the leaders of nations savagely to kill and destroy for the furtherance of their incredibly wicked ends.

But we need not look at kings and generals to discover the bankruptcy of the world. Go but to the corner store; drive your car down a busy street; take a quick glance at the crowds getting on or off a bus; try to buy a house or to sell one; in short, engage in any common pursuit and the secret is immediately out. Among the sons of fallen men there is no peace of mind or of heart.

True peace is a gift of God and today it is found only in the minds of innocent children and in the hearts of trustful Christians. "Peace I leave with you," said our Lord at the close of His earthly ministry; my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

It is time that we Christians awake to the fact that the world cannot help us in anything that matters. Not the educators nor the legislators nor the scientists can bring us tranquility of heart, and without tranquility whatever else they give us is useless at last. For more than half a lifetime I have listened to their promises, and they have so far failed to make good on one of them. To turn to God is now the only reasonable thing to do; we have no second choice. "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life."

It is an ironic thought too that fallen men, though they cannot fulfill their promises, are always able to make good on their threats. For decades they have been promising us a war less world where peace and brotherhood shall sit quiet as a brooding dove. All they have given us is the control of a few diseases and the debilitating comforts of push-button living. These have extended our lives a little longer so we are now able to stay around to see our generation die one by one; and when the riper years come upon us they retire us by compulsion and turn us out to clutter up a world that has no place for us, a world that does not understand us and that we do not understand.

But A-bombs and H-bombs and intercontinental missiles and atomic submarines able to belch irradiant death upon us from below the surface of the sea - these they have perfected and stand ready to use any time the undisciplined temper of some president or prime minister gets sufficiently out of hand.

In view of all this how wise is the man who has made the God of Jacob his hope and has taken refuge in the Rock of Ages. He has repudiated a world that can make good only on its threats and has fled for refuge to the Savoir who waits long before carrying out His threats but is ready any moment to fulfill a promise.

Maybe the great of the world have underestimated the Christian after all. When the big day comes he may stand like Abraham above the burning plain and watch the smoke rising from the cities that forgot God. Neither science nor learning can quench the fires of judgment in that day, but a Christian can steal a quick look at Calvary and know that his judgment is past.