One day, on a mountain side, with the sun shining down, Jesus, our Heavenly King spent time telling the people what it meant to be part of His Heavenly Kingdom. A blessed people. A special people. A saved people. God’s people. Jesus taught them plainly what God wants His people to be. Jesus showed them that the blessed are those who: are poor in spirit, mourn, are meek, hunger and thirst for righteousness, are merciful, and are pure in heart. If anyone fails to be part of Jesus’ kingdom it won’t be due to a lack of not knowing what to do, it will be a lack of doing what He said. Blessed are we if we love Him and keep His commandments.
In our list of aphorisms, those short power packed messages of truth found in Matthew 5:3-10, we now come to the seventh one Jesus gave. In Matthew 5:9 Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” ‘Sons of God.’ Add that to our list of blessings: Kingdom of Heaven, Comforted, Inherit the earth, Satisfied, Mercy, See God. How awesome it is that we could even be called children of God. Jesus tells us how we can be called a child of God.
Peace. What a beautiful word. Something we need and search for so badly in this messed up world. We live in a world of chaos. Anger. Murder. Hate. Violence. Foul language. Gossip. Slander. Envy. Boasting. Arrogance. War. Crime. So it goes without saying that we need peace. We want peace. We cherish times of peace. Where there is peace there is love. Forgiveness. Common good. Decency. Support. Hope. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. These are all so rare to find in this sinful world.
That is what makes the church of Jesus so very special and so very important. As Christians, we have been allowed to reconcile with God because of His mercy and love. By His grace we are allowed to be at peace with Him. God loves us. He has made peace with us. He wants to provide for our eternal benefit. And because of such, God wants us to do the same for each other. Being part of the Lord’s church is about loving God and each other. The church, our heavenly family is to be our sanctuary where we can get away from all the sinful conduct of the world. There is suppose to be peace in the church. Love. Forgiveness. Seeking the greater welfare of our brothers and sisters. And we are to be at peace with those outside the church that by our good example they will see Christ living in us.
If we want to be called a child of God, then we have to remain at peace with one another. God has called us to be at peace. No fussing and fighting and bickering. No talking bad about each other. Not being ugly to each other. Are we human? Yeah. Are we going to have problems? Yeah. Does God expect me to overcome it all? Absolutely yes. It is easy for us to get caught up in our own drama. Many times we make mountains out of mole hills. And even when there are greater problems we don’t always handle them the right way. We don’t always want to make peace. It is not a matter of can I make peace. It is a matter of do I want to make peace. Do you want to see God? Do you want to be a child of God? If so, you’ll want to make peace with all. Seek the greater welfare of all men. Especially your brethren. Don’t let Satan grow plants of bitterness and anger in your heart. God says that His children will always make peace. Seek peace and pursue. Find whatever it takes to make peace. That’s what God wants.
We’re not always going to agree with each other. At times our feelings will get hurt. At times we may even get hurt physically, whether bodily or in our possessions. It ain’t fun. It ain’t easy. But it is possible to get to peace. If we want to please God, that is. Do you want to be called a child of God? Then do whatever it takes to make and maintain peace. Be at peace. Be a peacemaker. Slow to anger. Slow to wrath. Forgiving. Loving. “A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:18). Think about it. Live it. And remember, if we will be at peace here on earth, then we will enjoy an even greater, more perfect peace eternally in Heaven. That’s what I want. Don’t you?
A Cord of Blue 