Peacemakers: June 3, 2010

Today's Word for Thursday June 3, 2010

PEACEMAKERS

DEFINITION

One who loves peace, gives harmony in human relations and is not quarrelsome.

SCRIPTURE

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." Matthew 5:9

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE

This is the seventh of the beatitudes that Jesus taught to the masses from the Mount of Olives. Seven was the number of perfection among the Hebrews and it may be that Jesus placed the peacemaker as the seventh on the list because He was the perfect man and He wanted His life to be a model for peace in our lives. What Jesus was trying to make clear to us was that He who enjoyed perfection on this earth is a perfect example for us to understand this seventh beatitude and become a peacemaker.

We cannot be peacemakers if sin and evil abounds in our life. If we even harbor thoughts of pride, greed, deceit, malice, jealousy, adultery and any other evil deed or thought we cannot be much of a peacemaker. We need to first pray and ask God to work in and through us by His Holy Spirit and to have Him remove our sinful desires, keep us from doing evil and make our hearts pure.

There is also significance as to the position of this text in the Sermon on the Mount. The verse before speaks of 'the pure in heart." We as believers must first be pure in heart and then peaceable. We all know people who are just troublemakers. They seem to find fault with everything and everybody they meet and see and are quick to start an argument. What we need in this world is peacemakers and not troublemakers. Jesus has called us to be peacemakers in this seventh of the beatitudes.

It is also important to note that no matter how peaceable we may be in this world, we will be misrepresented and misunderstood. Even Jesus who came to this earth as a perfect man bringing peace was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and surely acquainted with grief. So we should not be surprised when we try to do what is right and good but run head on into evil opposition from our enemies. Jesus also said: "Blessed are they that that are persecuted for righteousness sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Peacemakers are said to be blessed according to our Lord and are compassed about with blessings. To become this kind of peacemaker we must first be "Justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."(Romans 3:24) To be justified is to be declared just by God because of the righteousness of Jesus.

We are living in a world where we constantly hear the word peace. We hear of peace envoys, peace conferences and peace treaties. The world today keeps talking about ways of finding peace in the Middle East, but the only peace that will come to this earth is the peace that Jesus will bring when He returns to this earth. Until that day or until God takes us home He wants us to be peacemakers in this world proclaiming the good news of the gospel to all who will listen.

In our homes, parents need to be peacemakers and not fuel arguments by their words and deeds. The influence of evil is all around us and our lives need to radiate the peace that one has in his or her heart in knowing Jesus as the great peacemaker. This must begin in our homes and then reach out to our community and to the world we live in.

LEARNING

Our memory verse for this week is found in James 4:17.
Therefore to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, cleanse my heart of all evil thoughts so that You can use me to be a peacemaker and not a troublemaker.