Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
This passage of Scripture comes from a sermon that Jesus preached called the Sermon on the Mount. In it, He talks about all the characteristics of people who love God.
This one is a little confrontational. In different translations of Scripture, it actually says that God blesses peacemakers. This version says "those who work for peace." I love the equation here that peacemaking actually takes a little bit of work. When I was thinking about this Scripture, it threw another word into the air: peacekeeping. There's a difference between peacemaking and peacekeeping.
Peacekeeping vs. Peacemaking
If you think about being a peacekeeper, maybe you've felt this in your home. An argument stirs up and you feel all the tension in the room, and the best thing you could do in that moment is not to say something, but to stay quiet. I know I've been in those conversations as well, and it's more tense to stay quiet sometimes and wish you could say something, but it means that if you did, it would probably get a little bit more elevated. Peacekeeping means to stay quiet.
Now flip it on its head. Peacekeeping could mean you come in with brute force, and you do what it takes to keep the peace in your area. Keep people from speaking out. I know we've seen this around the world in different environments, where peacekeeping is actually forcing things to stay quiet instead of having a conversation. You've got two sides to this one word.
But now let's look at what Scripture talks about as making peace or working for it. Peacemaking requires us to take account of everything going on and actually take action, maybe even at the expense of ourselves. Look at Jesus, the ultimate peacemaker. He went to the cross on our behalf to make peace with God. His entire life was one of reconciliation. That's a big word that means to make right, to make right a relationship.
Jesus, the Ultimate Peacemaker
If we look at how Jesus lived His life to accomplish peace on our behalf, we see His life lived for others. The Bible says that He came to serve, not to be served. In Isaiah, the Bible actually says that the punishment that brought us peace was put upon Him. He went to the cross to make sure that we could have peace with God and show us it's possible to have peace with one another.
Maybe you're in a place like this right now, where you feel like God is calling you to make peace with someone, and you don't know how to do it or where to begin, because you've been in those rooms where the conversation is elevated. If you said anything, in your imagination, the room would explode. I would encourage you first to ask the ultimate peacemaker, Jesus, what peace should look like in that situation. Secondly, pray and ask Him where to start.
We can trust that if He can do it with an entire world, He can do it with you. Step back a little bit and ask the Lord away from the situation, away from the emotion of it all, the intensity of it all, and just ask Him, Jesus, what does peace look like for me in this situation? And what do You want me to do about it? He'll help you. Just put your trust in Him. He'll walk you through what to do and how to make peace His way.
