Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God.
It is a difficult thing to be talking about peace when there is so much destruction in the world. John Lennon spoke about a Utopia in his song imagine. The line “imagine all the people living life in peace,” just doesn’t seem possible today with what is happening in North Korea and Iraq, the soldiers that have tragically died whilst in battle, the recession that affects each one of us everyday. There just seems to be no hope, never mind any room for peace. But yet as Christians it is Jesus who is our peace, he gives us strength to carry on and become peacemakers because our peacemaker died for us. Jesus was plunged into chaos and he brought reconciliation.
Two very famous examples of peacemakers are Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela. For her work with the poor around the world Mother Teresa received the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize. Nelson Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. He was elected President of South Africa in 1994 and to millions of people around the world, he symbolises the triumph of dignity and hope over despair and hatred, of self-discipline and love over persecution. Both of these people strived for the work of the Prince of Peace, they took God’s commission to be peacemakers seriously and they made-peace, both here won the Nobel Peace Prize, they were recognised by society as peacemakers, this was their reward.
However the Nobel Peace Prize fails in comparison to what God has promised to them, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela used God’s grace to reach out to people and become peacemakers; their reward is found in God as they will be called children of God. A prize that is not as recognised by the people like Nobel Peace Prize, but a humble servant’s award and you’ll find that there is nothing better than to be called a child of God.
Sometimes we can think that being called children of God means that if you do this then you perform an action that you think will please God, But in the Beatitudes God is not telling us that he will bless us because of what we do, here it means that because you are a peacemaker you are called a child of God. Because you love the Prince of Peace and try to do good and create peace in his name you are children of God. John 1:11-13 says He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
We are all called to be children of God and in this Beatitude we are asked to be peacemakers, so what does being a peacemaker in our lives mean. I went to the dictionary because I was interested in what the secular world would deem as a peacemaker, it told me that a peacemaker is /a person, group, or nation that tries to make peace and in Matthew 5:9 says that “God blesses the peacemakers (which in its Greek translate means those who make peace), for they will be called the children of God. we are asked to go out and actively make peace in the world as Jesus did for us, Ephesians 2:17 “He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.” be the world your next door neighbour or the person you can’t stand the most, or the country that is in trouble, the options are endless.
But feel before we can make peace for others there is another level of peace we need and that is peace with God, inner peace so to speak. It is all too easy to go to people after church and say peace be with you, but how can we make peace if we ourselves are not peaceful, if we are not at peace with God. In Colossians 3:15 it says let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.”
Personally, sometimes I feel that God’s voice is lost in the chaos that can be life that I can get lost in studies, in placement. I can be working so hard for God that I forget to ask him what direction I am meant to go next, this would then lead me to resentment because I’ve forgotten who brought me here. What had happened to the peace that I felt before, the peace about the decision I was making?
As For me I don’t feel that inner peace if my faith is shattered, I don’t want to be a peacemaker if I am angry with the Prince of Peace. However I wanted to share this with you because maybe you are going through this, I have clung to the promises that God has promised me and I want to tell you to keep holding on, because a day will come when your inner peace is shattered but if we trust in the Lord he wont abandon us no matter how far we have fallen from him, if he can reconcile the world he can bring peace back into your hearts. As peacemakers we are following the example that Jesus set for us, don’t forget the promise of peace that has been set upon you.
In Phillipians Paul says (4:7) “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” God will not forsake us. It continues in verse 9 to say “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me -- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." The inner peace is God and once we have peace with God we can then be peacemakers, we can put into practice what we have learned and received and we will be the children of God.
