Daily D - Peacemakers

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Matthew 5:9

To be a peacemaker is to act God-like. You do what God does. Behind this concept is the idea that God and man were once enemies, and God made peace possible by sending Jesus to this world. God took the initiative. He is the original peacemaker.

Warren Wiersbe, one of my favorite writers during my teen years, points out that, “Christians should bring peace, between people and God and between those who are at odds with each other. We share the Gospel of peace.” To live out this truth means we work simultaneously in two directions. We don’t want to exclude one direction in favor of the other. We should learn to recognize that God’s work is done either way.

Peacemaking is hard work. It’s not for pacifists. And it’s not for those who want to avoid conflict. Peacemaking means facing the issues, evaluating possibilities, and making hard choices. The pacifist and the avoider store up trouble for another day. Peacemakers deal with trouble today so there can be peace tomorrow.

Let me wrap this up in theological terms. God, the original peacemaker, faced the issue that we had sinned. He evaluated the options that we could be lost forever or we could be saved through the work of Jesus. A divine decision was made, and today you can have peace with God.

Lord, like the old song says, make me an instrument of your peace.