Reflection: We know that God is a “God of peace” (Romans 16:20, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Hebrews 13:20); that heaven is a world of peace (Luke 19:38); that God is peace loving and peace making (2 Corinthians 5:19, Colossians 1:20) and that he calls us to be the same. He calls us to have the same character that he does, to love what he does, to pursue what he pursues, and to be willing to sacrifice for it in the way that he did.
The fact that the lack of peace is so pervasive in our world today is nothing new. We can trace it back to the book of Genesis. Humans have been at war with God ever since Adam and Eve sinned. And, beginning with the conflict between Cain and Abel, which eventually led to one brother killing the other, we’ve been in battle with one another.
So, when Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (as he did in our verse from yesterday) he totally shocked those around him. How could the Jews hope to overthrow Rome and restore their nation to a place of prominence if they were going to have to be “peacemakers?” It’s in this adversarial context that Jesus promised to bless the people who are his agents for peace saying that peacemakers will be called the “children of God.”
Question: Do you recognize the lineage and consequences of a lack of peace in the world? In your world?
Prayer: Lord, sadly, it seems that there is nothing new under the sun… except for the newness that is available for me as I trust in you. May your Holy Spirit presence and peace fall powerfully on your world, and may those of us who follow you, be so filled with your Spirit that we will be empowered to be peacemakers wherever we find ourselves. Amen.