Henry Drummond tells the story about a man who sought the perfect picture of peace. Not finding one that satisfied, he announced a contest and offered a prize to the artist who could best capture the idea of peace. The challenge stirred the imagination of artists everywhere and paintings arrived from far and wide. Finally, the great day of revelation arrived and the judges uncovered one peaceful scene after another until they finally narrowed their choice down to two paintings.

In one was a mirror-smooth lake that reflected lacy-green birches under the soft blush of the evening sky. Along the grassy shoreline a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed. Everyone who saw this picture thought that it was the perfect picture of peace.

As the man unveiled the second painting, the crowd gasped in surprise. This painting had mountains, too. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foamy waterfall. The crowd could almost feel its cold, penetrating spray. Overhead was an angry sky from which rain fell and in which lightening played. But when the crowd looked closer they saw in the midst of the thundering noises and bitter chill, a bush growing in a crack in the rock. And there in the midst of the angry rush of water sat a little mother bird in her nest resting content and undisturbed in her stormy surroundings. With eyes closed and her wings ready to cover her little ones, she manifested the peace that transcends all earthly turmoil—the perfect picture of peace.

The second artist captured the feeling of peace that can be ours in the kind of world and life in which we live.