Jesus said God adopts people who make peace.
- Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9).
The angels prophesied Jesus and peace on earth.
- “. . . Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:9-14).
Jesus said He came to bring . . . not peace, but a fighting weapon!
- “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34).
How do you reconcile the above statements?
“I hate conflict”. Have you ever heard a Christian leader confess this? I know I have said these words in the past. At first glance it might seem that peacemakers should hate conflict. They try to stamp out conflicts like firefighters extinguish flames. As a young leader I thought that the easiest way to make peace was to work to please those around me. I am learning, by trial, error, and godly wisdom, there are times we need to start conflicts in our quest to be peacemakers. Working to avoid conflicts or to resolve them simplistically may not be the way forward. Leaders who hate conflict, then, may end up hating the way forward. I have found that the peace we are looking for is often on the other side of many extensive conflicts. If we learn to embrace, look forward to, and to even enjoy conflicts, we may forge a trail towards heaven for many people.
Of course this depends on God’s people spending enough time with God to know the way forward, or at least the next step. If we try forging a trail with conflicts in our own strength this will be a bitter path to burnout. But if, as little children, we hold our Father’s hand as we walk into conflicts, He will lead us through to the other side.
God is looking for a humble, resilient people, who listen attentively, who speak the truth as they perceive it, and who keep getting back up again on their journey to heaven. Sometimes it almost seems like prisoners and outcasts have a certain edge. Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit chose Jesus to explain their intent to people, face to face. “Here is what we meant in the Old Testament.” Jesus starts His whole Sermon-On-The-Mount behavioral-expectations talk with the following verse. Who are the poor in spirit? How do the poor in spirit handle conflict and peacemaking? Would you have picked this opening phrase if you were Jesus? What do you think it means?
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).
What are your experiences with peace, conflict and the way forward?
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