Peacemakers

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

War in Iraq. Conflict in Afghanistan. Threats from North Korea. Bloodshed in the Gaza Strip. Every time that you turn on the news, you hear of war, terrorist attacks, and angry death threats.

Some people think that we should pull our troops home, close up our borders, and work hard at defending our nation. Others feel that we should go attack the enemy before they come here and kill us. And there are still others who hope that peace can be won through diplomacy, financial incentives and education. But keeping our military at home did not protect us from the attack on Pearl Harbor. Sending our troops to the Middle East has not ended terrorism. And Hitler was not stopped by diplomacy. If anything, history teaches that no matter what tactic we try, wars continue to be fought and people continue to die.

This should not surprise anyone who reads the Bible. Speaking of what was to come, Jesus said: When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom (Mark 13:7). He also predicted, Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold (Matthew 24:12). The daily news proves to us that Jesus was right.

War and conflict are inevitable because sin corrupts every human being, and it is only by having Jesus working within us that Satan’s influence can be resisted. But in a world where so many reject Jesus, and even Christians are prone to foolishly ignoring His leadership at just the wrong moment, what is the point of even trying to broker peace? We try, because Jesus wants us to. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. To be a peacemaker is to imitate Jesus. Jesus is the ultimate peacemaker; He made peace between God and we who had rebelled against heaven by shedding His holy blood on the cross, a sacrifice that took away our guilt and restored us to citizenship in the eternal kingdom which God rules. Jesus died for us to bring us peace with God, even though He knew that many people would reject His offer of peace and choose to die fighting against Him. Jesus gave everything in the cause of peace, and looks for the same commitment from us. Our Lord rewards those who seek to bring about peace, even when bloodshed looks inevitable.