“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Matthew 5:9 NASB
God is called the God of peace because He loves to create peace and is always at peace. Proverbs 6:16-19 says one of the things God hates is that which causes discord among brethren. Peace means rest, wholeness, completeness, tranquility, serenity, etc and Psalm 133 describes the blessedness of when brethren are at peace with one another. In this glorious state, God is allowed to flow unhindered and leaves a blessing of eternal life. For this reason, David in Psalm 34:3 advised that we should seek peace and pursue it.
God created the world in six days and when it was complete and He saw that He it was very good, He rested and was at peace. He also brought man into this rest and peace. However, the first war against peace occurred when man sinned. This plunged him out of the state of peace he was in and brought him into a constant state of restlessness, since he was thrown out of the garden of the Lord. Being that he did not have peace on the inside, the man without God is restless and cannot express peace to anyone or anything. Peace is one of the most sought after virtues by men today. Some seek this by trying to attain to financial freedom. Some think it is by having dominion over people and leading the world in a way that seems right to them, that they will find peace, yet Isaiah 57:20 and Isaiah 48:22 shows that the man without Christ, the wicked, is like a troubled sea.
Jesus came as the prince of Peace to bring about the first reconciliation between man and God, Ephesians 2:14-18. He came and tore the barrier between man and God, Jew and Gentile, Male and Female, Slave and free, but making all one in Him, Galatians 3:28. He mentioned that men will know He is the Christ, the anointed one, by the love we have for each other, John 17:20-20. This is because what men and people have tried to do for years, connecting people together who genuinely and unselfishly love and seek the best interest for their neighbour, though being very different from them, can only be achieved in Christ. He also gave us this ministry of reconciliation, to bring men back to God and a state of true inner peace, 2 corinthians 5:18-20. When a man is brought to Christ, there is Joy and peace in heaven and also on earth, because from within this man who has become a man of peace, God can express his love to the world.
We who have been given the peace and tranquility of Jesus after accepting Christ have the responsibility to make peace. Since there is no peace without Christ, the first step is to preach the gospel of peace to those who are without it. The next is to preserve the peace that Christ has given to his body. The biggest enemy of peace is selfishness, which was the reason Christ nailed the old man along with Himself to the cross, Galatians 2:20. Because discord hinders the free flow of the oil (anointing of the Holy Spirit) flowing from our High priests head, Jesus, Paul cautioned to live at peace among all men, Psalm 133:1-3.
Choosing peace is not the easiest thing for the man in the flesh because a man cannot give what he has not received. However, to the man in the Spirit it comes easy, because he is a lover of peace and enjoys the Peace of God he has when constantly with the Spirit. He would rather not sacrifice that inner tranquility for the inner turmoil and rottenness caused by bitterness, envy, etc. Choosing peace may involve allowing yourself to be defrauded by a brother, 1 corinthians 6:7, forgiving before you are apologized to, or choosing a soft answer rather than a brash one that can cause strife, Proverbs 15:1. It will mean you will need to consider your brother more important than you and will turn the left cheek often. It will mean you’d have to swallow your pride often and choose to live like the meek and lowly lamb of God even if it crushes ego, Philippians 2:1-9. Choosing peace allows that extra oil to flow and God to move unhindered, leaving a blessing for the giver and the receiver of peace in the process. In essence, choosing peace is to be like our Father who is called the God of peace and like our brother, Jesus Christ the prince of peace, the pattern son. Seek Peace and pursue it!
Prayer for today: Lord Jesus, thank you for destroying the enmity that existed between me and You, slave and free, men and women and for making all one in Christ. Help me today to seek peace with my brother and be proactive in pursuing it, knowing that You hate discord among brethren. Help me to be willing to consider my brother above myself and give him preference, for peace sake. Teach me to be a peacemaker that I may be like You, Father.
0 Comments