PEACEMAKERS

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9

Somebody said Washington D.C. has a lot of peace monuments. They build one after each war. What do we mean by peace? Peace is not just stopping the war. Peace is creating the righteousness that brings the two parties together in love.  Peace is not simply the absence of conflict or strife.  There’s no strife or conflict in a cemetery, but we can hardly use a cemetery as a model of peace.  No, peace, as God sees it, is far more than the absence of something.  It is the presence of something.  Biblically, it is the presence of righteousness that causes right relationships.  So, if we are to be peacemakers, we do not only stop the war, we replace it with the righteousness of God. It is an aggressive good.

There’s a difference between truce and peace. Truce just says you lay down your guns and you don’t shoot for a while. That’s the world’s definition when everybody stops for that one glorious brief moment while we reload. That’s truce. Peace is when the truth is known, the issue is settled, and the two parties embrace each other.  When the war is not raging, it isn’t over; rather, it is called a “cold war.”

Biblical peace conquers the problem in the middle ground so that the two can come together. It builds a bridge to two sides. Sometimes it means struggle. Sometimes it means pain. Sometimes it means anguish. Sometimes it means a little more strife, but in the end, real peace can come. A true biblical peacemaker will not let sleeping dogs lie. He will not save the status quo if truth must be brought to bear on the issue. He doesn’t say, “Well, you know, I know the person’s doing wrong, but, oh, I just would rather have a peaceful situation. Just want to keep the peace.” That’s a cop out. True peace only comes after the truth is brought to bear on the situation. Are you a biblical peacemaker?

Ike Graham