Blessed are the Peacemakers... for they will be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9
Humans like to bicker, quarrel and fight with each other. Agree? Disagree?
Consider the last 32 centuries of human history. In that period of time historians tell us there have been fewer than 300 years of peace. Within just the last 300 years, there have been 286 wars in Europe alone. There have been 14,553 known wars from 36 BC to date. Since 1945, there have been over 70 wars and more than 200 significant outbreaks of violence. From 1958, over 100 nations have been involved in one way or another in armed conflict of some kind.
There has always been conflict. Many believe there always will be. Someone once said, "Peace is that glorious moment in history when everyone stops to reload." The daily headlines of almost any news reporting organization tell about wars, brewing conflicts, crime, violence and hatred. In the midst of such conflict, confusion and strife, can there be a place of quiet rest, peace, tranquility and safety... a true paradise here on earth? Does such an environment exist?
A noted philosopher of the first century, wrote in reference to the Pax Romana - the Roman peace that existed in the civilized world at that time and about which Caesar boasted - "While the emperor may give peace from war on land and sea, he is unable to give peace from passion, grief and envy. He cannot give peace of heart, for which man yearns more than even for outward peace".
We haven't changed much since Jesus gave us the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount. We still struggle with conflict and turmoil. We have personal conflicts. Each one of us deals with hostility in some form all the time. We run into rude people who try our patience. Sometimes we find ourselves in volatile situations that might explode into some sort of conflict. Such things as extreme anger, “road rage”, now plague our highways.
For most people, any level of peace is simply "the absence of conflict and strife." If there are no wars, we say the world is at peace. If we aren't fighting with our neighbors, we think we have peace. But peace as defined in the Bible, is far more than the absence or cession of conflict. In the Old Testament peace is shalom which means "wholeness, completeness, harmony of life."
In the New Testament the Greek word for peace is eirene meaning "inner well-being." Putting them all together, peace can be defined as "inner calm, even in the midst of outward turmoil or calamity." Is such an inner peace even possible in today’s violent world?
To enjoy peace, is to be in harmony with God, ones self and others. It is important to know that peace in the Bible carries with it the idea of reconciliation. It is not just declaring a cease-fire but a a total eradication of the seeds and causes of conflict. It isn't just not fighting among ourselves, but learning to love one another, unconditionally. It isn't just closing the doors to shut out the noise of life’s stresses, but finding an inner tranquility in your spirit that remains even though you may be surrounded by turmoil.
The pillars of true peace begin when friendship is re-established between you and God, and others. There is only true peace when love takes the place of hatred. The peacemaker is the one who works to replace hatred and strife with love and unity. Change must occur. A completely new attitude must prevail... a transformation of mind and heart, that lays the foundation for finding peace that overcomes the turmoil of this world.
Where is this place or condition and is it accessible to all? The place is “in Christ” and the one who created this environment of peace is Jesus himself. In fact, Jesus is our peace. Into this squabbling, war-torn world, God sent His personal, visible representative of "peace on earth, good will toward men." Jesus became the instrument by which a lasting, eternal peace could be reestablished between man and God.
Isaiah prophesied about Jesus: "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace..." (Isaiah 9:6, 7)
God is the God of peace. He must make peace if we are to have peace and imitate Him in the task of making peace. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus makes Him the great peacemaker. God’s plan was to do nothing less than unite all kinds of people, anyone and everyone... into a spiritual kingdom of peace, love and righteousness available through the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus embraces the worst of sinners, uniting all types of people together into one beautiful family of God. He paid a high price to re-open the door to a relationship with God. But it doesn’t stop with uniting. To live in harmony you have to be different... transformed. You can’t do it, but God can and does.
All those who trust in Christ have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ and radically transformed. By their obedience to the gospel, they are being renewed in the attitudes of their minds and hearts. Those who have experienced this “peace from God” then become peacemakers, motivated to help others also make peace with God.
The job of a peacemaker is to reconcile men to God, with other human beings and with their own selves. When Jesus spoke these words, the world of his day was divided, hostile and in conflict.
Today, our world is little different from the time of Jesus. It is race against race, rich against poor, learned and illiterate, north and south, socialist and capitalist, liberal and conservative all in some form of conflict. Human nature has not changed.
Christians must be instruments of peace, serving God's plan by bring the hope of peace to a desperate world. That peace is Jesus Christ, the message of the gospel of salvation.
To be a peacemaker means to evangelize, to tell the good news of the love of God and the forgiveness of sins through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The solution for family feuds, racial strife and civil conflict is the gospel. When people come into fellowship with God, they are also in fellowship with each other... among those “transformed”, who are peaceful in nature and spirit.
True lasting peace does not come by political parties, economic systems, national flags or peace brokered by the United Nations. Jesus is the One who brings peace. The job of all Christians are to be “peacemakers”... spreading the peace that Jesus gives.
His Church is to be a place of peace, harmony and love – a sanctuary from the hostile world. Christians are peacemakers by their new nature, born of water and the Holy Spirit.
Just like Jesus dedicated his own life to peacemaking, we should dedicate our lives to bringing peace to the world. Peace that is true and eternal... men reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.
