When Jesus was born, shepherds in the field heard angels saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" The good news of the gospel is the only hope for harmonious relationships.

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. But he also said the second commandment is like the first: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

The Hebrew greeting "shalom," which is translated as "peace," means far more than a lack of friction and conflict. It includes perfect welfare, serenity, prosperity and happiness. Righteous personal relationships, intimacy and fellowship are uninterrupted in an atmosphere of shalom. Goodwill among people prevails.

Wes, 11, provides an example of a peacemaker in action: "One day, my friend was so mad at something. No one knew what it was he was mad at. I went over to him, and I said, 'The Lord is with you, and he will settle your heart down.' After that, he wasn't mad the rest of the day."

It's hard for us to imagine a world of harmony, peace and true righteousness, but that's the way it was in the beginning. The fall introduced strife, discord, chaos and division. World history is a series of conflicts with occasional interludes of peace brought on by a spiritual awakening or enforced by a strong army. In such an environment, peacemakers have their work cut out for them.

"God loved his enemies," says Lee, 10. "We should love our enemies." Someone once said that a man is known by his enemies. It would be better to say we're all known by how we treat our enemies. Christians should be the peacemakers in our society. Their experience of God's presence should function as bright light shining in world full of darkness, agitation and confusion.