“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” Matt 5:9 (NIV)
The Bible opens with peace in the Garden of Eden and was interrupted when man sinned. Jesus made peace a reality again by sacrificing His life upon the cross to destroy the penalty of sin and death. In eternity, peace will be fully restored. As long as there is the presence of sin upon the earth, peace will be challenged.
Christ-centered living involves peacemaking. As a follower of Christ, you have the privilege and responsibility to be a peacemaker. Being a peacemaker is the result of a holy life and the willingness to confront the culture with the claims of Christ. Peacemaking is not the art of being passive and tolerating willful disobedience. Peacemaking is not accommodating ungodly behavior. To be a peacemaker is to build bridges to broken and sinful people in order to show them the love of Christ and the way of Christ.
You have to be willing to get close enough to people to impact their lives. Sometimes that means looking beyond yourself and your circle in order to be used of God to be a peacemaker. Paul reminded the believers in Corinth to be bridge-builders when he wrote, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:18-19 NIV). You have been given the message. You have everything you need to obey God’s call.
Are you at peace with God and with others? Will you help others make peace with God? Will you help others make peace with others? Remember, we are just fellow beggars who have found bread…the Bread of Life.
Pursuing God,
Stephen Trammell
Executive Pastor
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