God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. Matthew 5:9

 

It’s easy to be a peacekeeper. But peacemaking isn’t for the faint of heart.

Here’s how to keep the peace: Just be quiet during an argument. Don’t disagree. Let people walk all over you and comply with requests with a weak smile. Being a peacemaker, on the other hand, is something very different from simply keeping the peace. Keeping the peace means you don’t trouble the waters and never get involved in problems. Peacemaking means often throwing yourself into the fray.

Peacemaking, the Jesus way, doesn’t always mean avoiding trouble. Sometimes, peacemakers head straight into the thick of it but they come armed with a calm that comes from knowing Jesus’s power. They come with a care rooted in experiencing Jesus’s love for themselves and others. Peacemakers come ready to show mercy, modeling Jesus’s example of forgiveness.

Peacemaking might mean speaking up about injustice when it would be easier to be quiet. Bringing God’s peace to the world means seeing the poor and doing something to alleviate hungry stomachs, weary hearts, and aching bodies. It also might mean being quiet when you’d like to complain or argue.

But, if you want to be a peacemaker, roll up your sleeves before you begin the messy work of healing. Much like what a doctor experiences in surgery, there’s bound to be gore and mess in the process of repairing the damage–peacemaking isn’t for the faint of heart. But Scripture promises, “God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9).

What situation can you bring the peace of God to today? Will you ask God to help you do it?