The Beatitudes – Pt 8 Peacemakers
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Mat 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
I have heard unbelievers tell me the Bible is full of contradictions. I suppose it can look that way if you don’t realize that God is working with a very, very long timeline and that much of His Word has different levels of understanding. For instance, Jesus is called the Prince of Peace and yet said this:
Mat 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
Mat 10:36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
That doesn’t sound very peaceful does it? The end result of His plan will be peace on the Earth but men will fight for what they believe in. Before that peace can be the norm, there are a lot of untruths that are going to have to be confronted. Everytime we embrace God’s ways instead of our own, peace grows.
However, the Beatitudes put forth the traits of the sons of the Kingdom of God. So peacemaking is a particular quality of the residents of it. Not just enjoying living in peace but actually extending it to those who aren’t peaceful.
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. (2 Cor 5:18-20)
This then is the job of the “raptured remnant”. It’s not to enjoy Heaven while the rest of the World rots in Hell, rather it is to minister the truth to them in love until the light dawns and they can receive what we are saying. Love conquers all. It never fails. Eventually those working to reconcile fallen man with his God will succeed and there will be peace.
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My boss and his wife are going through a particularly stressful time. They are facing financial problems. Her son is heading to Afganistan and their family situation is less ideal than they would like. You probably have or know of similar stories. The thing is, even though I could write my own laundry list of woes, I realized that it has been a long time since I have had a “bad” day. The farther your eyesight gets toward eternity, the less these things affect you. Not that you don’t care, they just don’t have the ability to affect your security. Being anchored in Christ means the storms of life can only toss your little boat so far. I am so thankful for the Peace that Jesus has brought to my life.