Peacemakers

Hi, and thank you for taking the time to listen to my podcast. As I’ve said many times before, this has not gotten the attention that it deserves. But, like The prodigal son I keep coming back to where I need to be. We are getting close to the end of our study of the beatitudes. Today’s lesson focuses on being a peacemaker.

In today’s society true and lasting peace is hard to find.

We have wars and rumors of wars. Anxiety and stress have overtaken many. The world has taken evil and made it into something good. Where are the peacemakers? Where are those who can lead us back to a place of lasting peace?  But where to start? Most of us are not equipped to be peacemakers on a global stage. But, we are equipped to bring harmony and common ground to those we encounter in our own neighborhoods and families. If we all actively seek to bring this peace which surpasses understanding to all we meet, then change can and will come to pass. One person at a time, one neighborhood at a time, one county, one state, one nation under God. Isn’t that where we came from? That is where we need to be once more. 

So, let’s look at today’s verse from the beatitudes.

Matthew 5:9 NIV – 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Making peace is not something we do from the sidelines.

It’s not pulling out our smartphones and recording someone being pummeled to death. Peacemakers intervene and take action to help others find common ground. We do so by putting ourselves in the other person’s shoes. We need to be able to relate to where both individuals are coming from and point them to the areas they have in common. Paul went about this in a unique way. 

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 ESV – For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings. 

Paul became all things to all people.

Not that he himself partook in legalism,  Judaism, or anything else that would undermine his ministry. But rather, he could empathize with their position. In doing so he was able to bring others to the common ground of Jesus Christ. Isn’t that where true peace begins?

To be a peacemaker you must come from a position of peace.

In other words you yourself must be at peace no matter what your situation. It is impossible to bring others to that common ground if you yourself are in constant turmoil. 

Psalm 34:14 ESV – Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

Peace is a lifetime pursuit.

As we seek to draw near to our Lord and Savior, we find peace. But on the other hand if we neglect our relationship with Him, and fall into various temptations, peace will be elusive and fleeting. A good peacemaker is at peace because he seeks to have a close relationship with the Father.

John 16:33 ESV – I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

By virtue of being a peacemaker we have become God’s children.

We need to have that child parent relationship. Where the child is submissive to the parent. With a childlike sense of humility we come to the Father. 

Matthew 18:3-4 ESV – Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

If you have a dominant personality that seeks to diminish others by your mere presence, then don’t anticipate being able to bring peace to those that need it.

Jesus had every opportunity to be a dominant personality but he chose to to come in the likeness of man. He was born with all the human frailties that made him vulnerable and exposed. He set aside his deity and became a humble and willing servant.

Philippians 2:5-7 ESV – Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

So who are some of these men of peace and did their peaceful actions influence the world?

Let’s just take a look at a few who were men and women of peace.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”

Mother Teresa

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.”

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it is those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

Nelson Mandela

“Let there be justice for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves.”

All these peacemakers had one thing in common.

They all suffered for their beliefs. Some paid with their lives. But they all felt that the call to peace was worth the cost.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, are you willing to go out and share the peace of God which surpasses all understanding with those that need to hear it? 

Is it worth the cost? The alternative leads to death and destruction. Be bold in your faith and be a humble peacemaker and help others to be reconciled one to another. 

As always I’d like to thank you for listening and may you have a week full of opportunities to share this good news with those that need to hear it. Let’s just go to the Lord in prayer.

Heavenly Father, thank you for your peace that dwells in us. May your Holy Spirit lead us to those who are embattled against each other. May we intervene and may the Holy Spirit give us the words of peace to share with those that need to hear it. Father may we help to bring reconciliation and common ground to those that are hurting. May we be willing to humble ourselves and not force peace upon anyone. Let it be your peace and in your time. Father we just pray that all that we do may bring honor and glory to your name. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.