“Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.”
I think peacemakers should be called the children of God. Not that Jesus asked my opinion when saying so. The other day someone told me that maybe God would give me direction about what to do next in my life and I should ask Him. “That’s my opinion,” I said, “I have been telling Him that for ages, but the Holy Spirit doesn’t take orders very well.”
One of the things I most love about peacemaking is that it cannot be done on human terms. For so much of my life, I tried to make peace the way people around me thought peace should be made. I thought it meant getting along with everyone or having everyone like me. After four years of twelve-stepping, I understand that peace God’s way doesn’t always make the people around me happy.
For example, Jesus said that He did not come to bring peace but a sword – to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
If I want peace, then I need to do relationships God’s way. I can’t do them my way. I must reconcile with whom He prescribes reconciliation. I must allow a sword to cut me apart from those with whom He says I must no longer be intimate. I must not be a slave to trying to please people; I must be a slave to righteousness – the true righteousness that is pleasing to God.
While I do think peacemakers should be called the children of God, I have noticed they aren’t always called children of God by everyone around them. Some people don’t like the way I follow God in my relationships. The first person who comes to my mind when I think of people in my life who are genuine peacemakers isn’t liked by everyone in their life. Neither is the second person who comes to mind.
I have decided that first and foremost, peacemakers must be called the children of God by God Himself. Just like the merciful will obtain mercy from God but not necessarily from people.
I will say I so truly appreciate the people in my life who help me live with true peace. I definitely do think of them as children of God, probably because they are.
One of the things I love about peacemakers is it is absolutely necessary for them to confront sin. They are not like peacekeepers. A peacekeeper, who for the sake of this conversation is someone who avoids confrontation at the cost of justice and morality, often will cry, “Peace, peace!” when there is no peace. On the other hand, a peacemaker sees no reason to try to keep peace with the devil. In some relationships, God-given peace comes through a sword of separation. Jesus promised this. It is not a probably.
I also think it interesting that He didn’t promise to bring a sword between us and people we don’t like or get along with. Instead He promised to bring a sword between us and those with whom we were most intimate before we came to know Him as our personal Lord and Savior. If they also do not know Him as their personal Lord and Savior, then a sword WILL separate the relationship. It is not a probably. It is a promise.
It was in realizing this that I began to walk in true peace in my relationships. I began submitting my emotional attachments to people to God’s commands about how intimacy and unity should be experienced. The sword has separated me from people with whom I was very emotionally attached. If I want peace, I must submit to the sword.
Also if I want peace, I must practice a lot of humility in relationships where God has not promised to bring a sword. In my relationships with fellow believers, I must consistently confess, repent, forgive and reconcile. I find this takes a great deal of humility. There is a ridiculous amount of filth left in my human nature, and I am often extremely reluctant to admit it.
“Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness,” so concluded the biological brother of Jesus. A man who chose reconciliation with Christ over the sword of separation.
“Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God,” so my precious Savior said. Shortly thereafter He would ask, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers? Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Let the sword come where it is inevitable, and walk in peace with those who do His will.
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