PEACEMAKERS
Matthew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Under a shaded canopy of towering aspen trees high on a mountain bench I found something very unusual, rare and special. Nestled in the thick green grass there lay the remains of 2 huge bull elk, their antlers tangled to the point where they were not able to separate and there they died.
The two bulls clashed together with a tremendous crash that, must have broken the peaceful morning silence and I'm sure, could be heard across the mountains for miles around. What had been a peaceful day turned into a terrible tragedy.
Animals don't know peace. We picture a beautiful fawn laying in the dew covered grass and think, ah, it's so peaceful. But we fool ourselves. That fawn will have to elude being eaten by wolves, coyotes or other predators, run over by cars, starvation, disease and more... it's entire life. It's a false peace
Humans are the only species that can know real peace. And real peace isn't found in anything of this world. True peace only comes from one place.
True peace can only come from God Himself. The Bible tells us that the peacemakers are blessed... But too often we fake peace instead of making peace. Like the day those elk died on the mountain. And by faking peace many will be hurt and their service to God diminishes greatly.
In Romans 12:18 the bible tells us, "If it be possible, as much as lives in you, live peaceably with all men."
We are to be peacemakers... But we've become a Christian family of "peacefakers" to try to avoid conflict or hurting anyone's feelings or protecting our own.
Avoiding conflict isn't peacemaking. Avoiding conflict means running away from the mess, while peacemaking means running into the middle of it. Peacemaking means addressing those issues that caused conflict in the first place.
Peacemaking can never be separated from doing justice. They go hand in hand. Peacemaking means having to stir the waters on the way to peace. Peacemaking means speaking the truth in love, but speaking the truth nonetheless.
If you truly love those around you, you won't fake peace, you will meet conflict head-on. Become a peacemaker... You will be blessed because of it.
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