Blessed are the Peacemakers

In Matthew 5:3-10, on the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught the Beatitudes to the crowd. One of the Eight Beatitudes taught was “Blessed are the Peacemakers.” The definition of a Peacemaker is “a person who brings about peace, especially by reconciling adversaries.” Matthew 5:9 says that Peacemakers will be called the children of God. Peace is essential to God. Paul starts all of his letters by giving the blessing of grace and peace. Bringing peace to our families, friendships, and even interactions with complete strangers will result in countless blessings from the Lord.

The first step to being a Peacemaker is having peace in our own lives in this chaotic world. How can we be expected to be Peacemakers if we are not filled with peace ourselves? You cannot fill an empty cup with another empty one! Then how can we be filled with peace? It’s pretty simple; we find our peace in Christ. Paul not only starts his letters by giving peace, he also calls Christ our peace in Ephesians 2:14. So having peace in our hearts is having Christ in our hearts! The best way to experience His peace is by spending time with God in His word and putting what we learn into practice (Philippians 4:9). When we strive to live godly lives, He grants us peace, even when we fail. God does not expect perfection from us. James 4:8 says when we draw near to him he will draw near to us. By merely striving to live out God’s path for us He is pleased and rewards us with peace. It shows God’s great love for us that He gives us the gift of peace when we dwell with Him. God’s peace is so important because it guards our hearts, but it also guides us in our decision making. His peace surpasses all understanding. This means that the peace that Go grants us is greater than any peace we could ever attain on our own. Ephesians 1:3 says “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…” Peace is one of the many gifts that God is gives us when we rest in him. When we cling to God, He grants us peace and uses us to demonstrate His love by example to others.

So by simply dwelling with God, He prepares us to be Peacemakers. But what are other ways we can be Peacemakers in our daily lives and demonstrate God’s peace to others? James 1:19 says “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger…” One of the greatest ways that we can pursue peace is by being quick to listen and slow to speak. By simply taking a minute to think about the consequences of our words we can avoid so much conflict. Another simple way to build others up in peace is making yourself available to talk to or pray with them. Look for situations to pour peace into friends. Romans 14:19, “So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” Continue to seek God and His peace and it will guide you in situations to benefit His kingdom and glorify His name. God gives us the gift of peace out of His great love for us. We have done nothing to earn it. When we spread His peace and his Kingdom we are thanking Him for his unconditional love. Always remember that we serve the Prince of Peace who is always eager to bless us, regardless of our actions.