Blessed are the Peacemakers
The beatitudes are Jesus’ beautiful attitudes. The beautiful thing about attitudes is that attitudes are a choice. We’re in control of our attitudes. The world thinks that we’re victims of the world’s negative attitudes. However, we’re not victims…. God gives us the power to control our hearts. This is why keeping our hearts with all diligence is a command. Then when we keep our hearts with all diligence, the blessing of God will pour out of it.
Many people leave broken relationships in their wake. This is because of the sin nature we all inherited from Adam’s original sin. In Genesis, there was a murderer who wiped out a quarter of the world’s population. His name was Cain and the Bible says he was “of that wicked one.” His heart of hatred was influenced by the devil whose evil spirit of wrath, anger, malice, jealousy and rage resulted in murder. According to 1 John 3:12, “Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.”
The Old Testament law shows us that we’re powerless in our sin nature to keep the letter of the law. It shows us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. God’s institution of marriage shows us that in our own ability, we cannot reconcile our hearts with our spouse. In order to reconcile, we must meet each other at the foot of the cross. Jesus Christ is the solution to irreconcilable differences. There is no peace without the prince of Peace.
Jesus said to the multitude who tried to elect him as their king, That’s not why I’m here. The children of Israel had read the Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah. They thought that their Saviour would be a political messiah to deliver them from the oppressive rule of the Roman Empire. However, Jesus said, my peace is not of this world….. He said, “my peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as this world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.” According to 2 Corinthians 5, God has sent his ambassadors to deliver a peace treaty from the kingdom of heaven… we who are born again of His spirit are his ambassadors sent by our Sovreign Lord to deliver God’s treaty to a fallen world. He has given us the word of reconciliation and committed to us the ministry of reconciliation to reconcile God’s people back to God through his son Jesus’ perfect sacrifice for their sins.
Once upon a time, the devil came down the path with a cart full of men. From the other direction came the Lord God. The Lord said, what have you there? The devil said, a cart full of men. The Lord said, how did you catch them? He said by drugs, sex, pride, money, sensuality and the love of the world. God said, how much would it cost for me to buy them from you? Name your price. The devil said, it would cost you your only begotten son whom you love with all your heart.
If we’re to be called the children of God, then God must first soften our hearts. As Oswald Chambers said, thank God for breaking our hearts for what breaks his. Those who approach the Lord must come to Him with a heart broken of pride, a heart filled with meekness and humility.
In the last beatitude Jesus said, blessed are they who are persecuted for my name’s sake…. for when they revile you and persecute you for my sake, the world will know that you belong to Jesus Christ. By persecution, the world will know for whom you stand… that you count not your life dear, save for the witness of your Father in heaven.
In John 13 Jesus said, a new commandment give I you, that ye love one another, even as I have loved you. The love of Christ is different from the love of this world. He loved us first… for while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. It’s only by God’s grace and mercy that he has given us the capacity to love him in return and to love one another with the love wherewith Christ loved us.
The world thought that the Messiah would come to defeat the world’s armies. Jesus could have annihilated the evil empire… He said, know ye not that I have twelve legions of angels, 72,000 at my command? Only one mighty angel put the armies of the Old Testament to flight. However, Jesus said I did not come to bring a sword but to bring peace. Wars are the result of sin…. there will be in the last days wars and rumors of wars. This is the nature of man ever since Cain murdered his brother Abel.
The solution to war is peace. True peace is only through the Prince of Peace. Peace is the result of reconciliation… of bring together that which has been separated. Jesus Christ himself is the one who reconciles, for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
Through the trials of life, when we lose the things that the world holds dear, our godly response will be a testimony to the world… it will show them the true heart of a man of God. Jesus said, how will you respond when you are persecuted, shamed, ridiculed, and cast down? Either we will be influenced by the vengeful attitudes of this world or we will control our attitude to align with God’s beautiful attitudes. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal…of the flesh, but spiritual to the pulling down of spiritual strongholds. Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
The devil will distract us to think of ourselves and our own pride, arrogance, and self aggrandizement instead of thinking about God and his grace, mercy, and love. The devil says, it’s all about you… you’ve been victimized and you deserve vindication and retribution. He says, Your human right is your right not to be offended. However, Jesus said, blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you and despitefully use you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake, For great is your reward in heaven.
Jesus, while being reviled he did not revile, being persecuted he did not persecute, but instead he trusted himself to his Father who judges all things righteously. Because Jesus humbled himself unto death for our redemption, one day, at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
God is in heaven thou upon earth… therefore let your words be few. And let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying so that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Hurting people hurt others…. Saul himself was zealous to hunt down Christians and commit them to prison. That’s when Jesus met him on the road to Damascus and said, Saul, why are you persecuting me? In this life changing encounter with the risen Christ, Saul turned his heart around and repented… he did an about-face. He turned from persecuting Jesus to confessing Jesus is Lord.
When the Holy Spirit is allowed to work within you, God will give you the words to bless others. God has called us to be peacemakers… He has given us the ministry of reconciliation and committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Blessed are the peacemakers. Jesus Christ is the one who makes peace by reconciling our hearts with God’s heart…. therefore we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
In other words… Go give ‘em heaven!
… that we may ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ,
Michael
