Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
There is something in our souls as believers that sees the hostility of this world and rises up. This thing in the soul of the believer cringes at injustice, cries at discord, and yearns for peace and unity. The underlying feeling of, “this is not how things should be” vibrates as a guttural response to the conflict surrounding.
Often we quiet this feeling. We tuck it away into a religious box called “peace.” We say things to ourselves like, “I’m not going to let this steal my peace.” Or we say things like, “I’m going to have peace in the storm.” These statements are not wrong, but they are incomplete.
Religion takes a measure of truth and uses it as a formula to live by. Relationship with the Lord Jesus involves pressing so closely to Him that our thoughts and actions begin to mirror His. Jesus instructs us to do something that He lived: be peacemakers.
The peacemaker does not attempt to keep the peace. Pacifiers calm environments to placate individuals into maintaining the status quo. Such is the work of the peacekeeper. What if the status quo is a norm of hostility, violence, and division? These three words describe the condition of this world. Jesus did not come as a peacekeeper. He came as a peacemaker. He held onto peace while in the storm, but then He spoke to the storm to bring peace to it.
The challenge for believers is to walk into situations in life and to bring peace. Quiet can serve as an unhealthy counterfeit to the peace that Christ wishes to bring. Do not seek quiet. Seek peace.
Those that walk as peacemakers fulfill what membership in the family of God really looks like. All believers should aspire to walk in this way.*
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to begin to speak and pray for peace over a situation. Perhaps God is asking you to question the status quo in your world. Maybe today God is asking you to speak the truth in love. Perhaps God is asking you allow the brokenness of this world to disturb you enough to partner with Him in doing something about it.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.
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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 100-101.