"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." Matthew 5:9 (CSB)
With His statement "Blessed
are the peacemakers" the Lord surely must have shocked those around Him.
How could the Jews ever hope to
overthrow the Roman government and restore themselves to a place of prominence
if they were going to be a bunch of "peacemakers?" The Romans were
not going to just lay down or step aside at the request of a group of
peace-making Jews.
What the Lord said in this
seventh Beatitude made absolutely no sense to those who were looking to
overthrow the Romans and to take back by force that which rightfully belonged
to them.
As we look at today, things
haven’t changed that much. Conflict and turmoil still exist in our society
today, hostility runs rampant around the world, and yet we are called to be
"peacemakers."
How can we as Christians fulfill
our role as "peacemakers" in a world that is growing more and more
antagonistic toward us and what we believe?
What does it mean to be a
peacemaker?
Regardless of whether it made any
sense to the Jews of Jesus day or whether it makes any sense to us today, the
call of Jesus is for us to be peacemakers. Working for, and following after
peace is a distinguishing mark of those who are true followers of the
"Prince of Peace."
The world’s view is give me peace
and forget everyone else. It is a
selfish me-only view. Christ calls us to be the ones who set the world right-side up.
Today, consider what you think
being a peacemaker involves, and tomorrow we will look at the Biblical concept
that Jesus is calling us to be.
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