Blessed Are The Peacemakers

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.”
Matthew 5:9 (NIV)

Jesus, in what we know as the sermon on the mount, said ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God’ Mat 5:9 (NIV).  In other words, a key characteristic of those who would be the sons and daughters of God would be to make peace and create harmony as a way of life.  The sons and daughters of God will be initiators of peace, will be reconcilers, those who make a difference, those, to use the modern phrase, who are part of the solution instead of part of the problem.  There is a well known prayer by St Francis of Assisi that is good to reflect on as we start a new day, it goes like this:

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is darkness, light; and
where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may
not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and
it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

We have a choice as we start each day of our lives, along with St. Francis of Assisi, to express love in response to hatred; to offer forgiveness to those who injure us; to encourage faith; to shine the light of truth in the darkness, and to bring joy into the lives of others.  The second part of his prayer lists needs that we all have.  We all need consolation, we all need to be understood, we all need to be loved.  But we make the choice to offer consolation, to extend understanding even if we don’t feel understood, and to love aggressively, expressing an ‘in-spite-of’ kind of love to those we come face to face with.  This is the way we become peacemakers and can truly say we are the sons and daughters of God.

God has called each of us to the glorious responsibility of “being peacemakers.”  It matters greatly to him.  Let us start trying to do it today!

Prayer
Lord make me an instrument of peace–YOUR peace, that passes all understanding. Help me to make the conscious choice every day, every hour, every moment to live the way of peace, to extend peace and make peace in every way that I can.
Amen

Study by Ray Walker