The Peacemaker

The seventh of the eight Beatitudes is talking about being a "Peacemaker." "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." In Webster’s Dictionary it states a peacemaker is "a person who makes peace, as by settling the disagreements or quarrels of others." In the Roget’s Thesaurus, it calls a peacemaker an ‘intercessor, interceder, mediator."

If we want to have a principle for this Beatitude, it would seem to be that of ‘reconciling’. When we are reconcilers we are showing that we are ‘sons of God’, and then we are like Jesus, with a family resemblance.

As a ‘peacemaker,’ Jesus is our peacemaker with God the Father. I Timothy 2:5 states there is "one mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus." Jesus took on Himself the body of a man, and paid the price of sin on Mt. Calvary. Now according to Mark 16:19 He is seated at the right hand of the Father. When we accept Him as our substitute, He stands as our mediator, interceding for us, and the Father sees us as He sees His Son, pure and joint heirs with Christ.

We also will find ourselves in a position of being a peacemaker in our every day lives. It may be with brothers and sisters in Christ, of a different denomination, or it may be a different culture. As long as Christ’s diety, humanity, and keeping Christ as the central figure, is not compromised, we can be peacemakers, and can have fellowship with others through our submission to Christ.

Here is what Paul tells us about Jesus, our Peacemaker- example:
"And (He designed) to reconcile to God both (Jew and Gentile united) in a single body by means of His Cross, thereby killing the mutual enmity and bring the feud to an end.
"For it is through Him that we both (Jew or Gentile-far off or near) now have an introduction (access) by one (Holy) Spirit to the Father (so that we are able to approach Him.) (Ephesians 2:16,18 Amplified)

My Prayer:
O Lord, Help me to not put on airs or be judgmental, but to submit wholly to You, accepting all our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, no matter their creed or ethnic group or culture. In You all barriers have been removed and You are our bond of unity and harmony. We are all fellow heirs, members of the same body, and share in the same promise of You through our acceptance of the Gospel. Thank You for showing me how to be a peacemaker. Amen