Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Blessed are the Peacemakers

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

Matthew 5:21-26:

"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”

            “Blessed are the peacemakers!” declares Jesus.

            But who are the peacemakers? Nobel Peace Award winners like President Obama? Peace-keeping forces sent by the United Nations to keep the peace in a troubled region of the world? Local cops keeping the peace on the streets?

            I suppose any of these would be good guesses but they are not what Jesus had in mind. Instead, he was thinking of Christ-followers like you and me who are quick to make peace with those living around us. He makes this clear in the Scriptures above, Matthew 5:21-26, which expounds on the seventh of his main points, the seventh Beatitude.  

(For those new to this blog, we believe that Jesus gives eight main points, often called the Beatitudes, and then expounds on those eight points in reverse order in the Sermon on the Mount that follows. For more on this, see the very first post in this blog titled The Key to the Sermon on the Mount and posted on Sept. 26, 2014.)

So then, blessed are you, even better, blessed am I, when we are the peacemakers that Jesus invites us to be. Blessed – truly happy, enjoying a prolonged state of happiness – will we be when we enter into the kingdom of God and allow Him to reign over us by being peacemakers in the circumstances of our everyday lives. Jesus gives us three examples in the text above, and we will look at them in detail in the days to come, but for now let’s focus on that blessed state of happiness.

            After all, who doesn’t want to be happy? We all do! But many times we are looking for happiness in all the wrong places. We look for it in material things – if only I had that sports car, if only I had that house, if only I had more money in my bank account. We look for it in carnal relationships – if I could get that woman or marry that man, then I will be happy. Sometimes we think if I can only be more successful in my career – make more money, supervise more people, become more famous – then I will be happy.

True happiness, says Jesus, is not about those things. In fact, he turns the tables on our traditional views of what makes us happy and tells us that to be happy and blessed we should be less concerned about ourselves and more concerned with pleasing God and loving our neighbor. Blessed and happy are you when you are a peacemaker, when you are pure in heart, when you are merciful, when you are all the other things He tells us in the Beatitudes.

We will be studying all of these in the weeks to come, but for now ask yourself, “Have I been experiencing the indescribable joy that comes from knowing Jesus? Have I been resting in the peace that passes all understanding, which comes from a deep-seated trust in God? Do I have that godly contentment that comes from knowing that God is reigning in my life and working all things together for my ultimate good?”

If not, if you have been feeling distant from God and lacking the joy and peace that He offers, then draw near to Him right now, before another moment goes by. Rest assured that He hasn’t forsaken you or distanced Himself from you; it is you who has distanced yourself from Him, even if you didn’t mean for it to happen. The pressures of life, the distractions of the world, our own fleshly desires, and the enemy or our soul all work against us to keep us from knowing God better and enjoying Him now and forevermore.

Pray with me: Lord, forgive for those times when I have distanced myself from you. Forgive me for those times when I have sinned against you, whether willfully or from neglecting my relationship with you. Teach me how to keep you first in my life. Lead me in paths of righteousness and help me to stay close to you. Help me to live in that place of sweet surrender to you, in the kingdom of God, where you reign over me and in me and through me and I find that place of true happiness, indescribable joy, and perfect peace…Continue to pray as you feel led...

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