By: Mike Kelly
Retired Pastor
Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God (Matt 5:9) is our 7th beatitude in this opening series on the Sermon On the Mount found in Matthew chapters 5-7.
As I’ve said earlier, these beatitudes are like the Fruit Of the Holy Spirit in that they are not individualistic like the Gifts of the Holy Spirit which are generally for specific situations and specific times.
The beatitudes are meant to be found in all of us, ever increasing as we walk and mature in our relationship with Christ.
I grew up watching westerns and the Colt Peacemaker was the favorite gun for sheriffs, criminals, the army and just about anyone famous back then.
Peace by force or fear is not what Jesus had in mind in this beatitude. When we live as a society as if there is no God, chaos reigns, strife and violence become the atmosphere of everyday life.
Wars and violence are everywhere in the world, no less so than even in our cities. And war doesn’t have to be all physical either. We live in an angry time.
Look at how we approach politics or issues like vaccinations and LGBTQIA+ or even climate change. We are so divided that often that division shows up in refusing to speak to friends or relatives.
Everywhere we turn, there is need of a peacemaker. And God desires Believers to be that peacemaker so much so that he calls them his children. Christ came to bring peace to the lost and to reconcile the world to God.
That is also our charge. Our very presence brings the Holy Spirit into a situation as he lives within us. Peacemakers aren’t just to stop wars but to help heal, even eradicate, the causes of strife and division.
We’re to push back the forces of evil that help cause chaos and strife. We do that through prayer and spiritual warfare. We mostly bring true peace through sharing the Gospel with those who are lost.
Can you imagine living in the world God initially created? Lions and tigers and lambs all ate together. There was no selfishness, no greed, no fear, nothing that would cause division and strife until sin entered in and evil began to prosper.
What Satan and sin destroyed could be partially redeemed by the Body Of Christ on earth living faithfully where we are. Imagine a world where the children of God lived like God intended.
Imagine if we returned good for evil. If we blessed and refused to curse those we disagree with. Imagine if we gave a full tithe and then alms to Kingdom work what could change. Hunger could be defeated.
Homelessness could be erased. Mental health facilities would have room to help those in need. Guns could be used for sport and not shooting children in schools.
Yep, imagine what this post-Christian society would look like if you and I behaved as God directed us. If we actually cared about the lost. If we actually served the needy.
If we actually housed the homeless. If we actually clothed the naked. If we actually prayed for the sick and hurt among us. If we actually visited both the literally and metaphorically.
Imprisoned. Imagine what our world would be like if we became the peacemakers God desires. Being a peacemaker means getting involved. Not being afraid to get into the middle of the war, of the strife, of the conflict.
We can’t remain above it all. We need to be willing to get in the mud and get dirty if need be. How
can we bring 2 sides together if we can’t meet and listen to both? And that means that sometimes we are going to be misunderstood, yelled at, even harmed or imprisoned.
What about those NGO’s working in Ukraine or Gaza? They are in the middle of battlegrounds, and some are killed and wounded trying to bring aid and medicine and food into these and similar war-ravaged places.
What about missionaries and local evangelists in areas like North Korea, Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran where they are being persecuted and martyred almost daily for the charge of sharing the truth about Jesus Christ.
And you don’t have to go back too far to find it locally. Just 3 decades ago the KKK came to town because African Americans were being allowed to go to church in Bryan Ohio.
And what about the current struggles over housing the homeless in our area? Where are the peacemakers here who could bring both sides to the table? I know of one man who recently tried to talk to both sides about a road to peace outside the courts and public.
He received communications from attorneys on both sides asking him to stay out of it. Another asked his
councilman to talk about it and was told no one would talk to him.
Would we be where we are if a peacemaker had had a chance to get involved before the attorneys and courts? Blessed are the peacemakers. The radical faith of peacemakers is needed in Africa, China, Israel, and Williams County Ohio.
“Father, let it start with me being a peacemaker where you have placed me.” Can you pray that prayer? Will you pray that prayer?
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Mike Kelly is the founding pastor of Bryan’s Grace Community Church (retired) and Board Chairman of Bryan’s Sanctuary Homeless Shelter and Williams County’s Compassion (free) Medical Clinic.