Being The Peacemaker
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you,” (Matthew 5:1-12).
Here we read the teachings of Jesus during His famous sermon on the mount. These verses are what is commonly referred to as The Beatitudes. While each and every one of these verses are powerful, the one we are focusing on is verse nine.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God,” (Matthew 5:9).
It happens on your first day of school, your first day of work, or first day of college. Regardless of where it may be, it is likely that you will meet somebody who you really don’t think you can get along with. You will always hear the saying of, “that’s life, you have to live with people you don’t like.”
In everyone’s life, there is a lesson learned about having to deal with people that you may have a hard time getting along with. Some people love to pick fights, some people love to argue, some people love having a different opinion just to bother you. We all know that it can be very tempting and very easy to fight back. However, is that really the right thing to do? Many people will tell you to fight back, “show them who’s boss.” What is really interesting though, is what Jesus says. Jesus actually says, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.”
Jesus tells us that we should actually be the peacemakers, not the ones retaliating. By being the peacemakers and refraining ourselves from retaliation, we promote the message of God to all those around us.
Later on in Jesus’ sermon, He speaks about being the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16). By being both the light of the world and also striving to be peacemakers, we will undoubtedly be sharing the message of God without even speaking it. Preaching by our example.
“Christ has no hands but our hands to do His word today. He has no feet but our feet to lead men in His way. He has no tongue but our tongues to tell men how He died. He has no help but our help to bring them to His side. What if our feet are busy with other things than His? What if our feet are walking where sin’s allurement is? What if our tongues are speaking of things His life would spurn? How can we hope to help Him and welcome His return? We are the only Bible the careless world will read, we are the sinner’s gospel, we are the scoffer’s creed. We are the Lord’s last message given in deed and word. What if the type is crooked? What if the print is burred?”
Be The Peacemaker This Week!
