Blessed Are The PeaceMAKERS

I don’t know about y’all, but the past few weeks have felt so heavy to me.

The news of current events is everywhere. Practically inescapable in our social media driven world. And it’s mostly really sad. Senseless. Outrageous. Hate-filled. Tragic.

I see social media flooded with hashtags urging the world to pray. For Dallas. For Nice. For Baton Rouge. And I am reminded that every city in our world needs to be scattered, covered, and smothered with prayer. (Canadian readers: That was a Waffle House reference to lighten the mood… Please come to The South and I’ll take you to WaHo before we go pick peaches and make a cobbler on my front porch while we sip sweet tea.)

I find myself asking questions like, “Why are people mean?”, “What possesses people to be so hateful toward one another?”, and “What in the world can I do to make a difference?”

And then to answer those questions, I go to the one place with answers.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”

When the world feels chaotic, it’s easy to forget who we are. Or better put… whose we are. We are children of God. We have a good, good Father who is in control. And while we can’t see or know what He sees and knows, we can put our trust in Him.

HOWEVER, being a peaceMAKER is not a passive role. Jesus didn’t call us to be peace-wishers or peace-dreamers. He said that to be a child of God is to MAKE PEACE wherever we go. Especially when it doesn’t feel like the easy thing to do.

Some of you may know that I am a “maker”. (That’s Etsy-world speak for “I do crafts and sometimes people hang them in their homes”.) However, there are days when the watercolors aren’t inspiring me. I don’t want to pick up the paintbrush. I don’t want to put the pen to paper. I don’t take action because what if 1.) I mess up, or even worse 2.) it’s hard… Am I living out my calling as a maker? No, not really.

And we can apply this to our role as children of God. As peaceMAKERS.

If you haven’t read The Parable of the Good Samaritan recently, I urge you to do it now. (Luke 10:25-37)

This is our role as peacemakers. To love people. Regardless of any circumstance, difference of opinion, or social class. We cannot let our fears of messing up (failing at making an impact) or the task being too hard (or too out of our comfort zone) stand in the way of being people of peace.

Whether it’s volunteering to serve those in need in your community, building relationships with people who are not exactly like you, or simply smiling at someone in the grocery store, we are called to love our neighbors. And guess what, we have about 7 billion neighbors on this planet. We are called to take action. To love each and every one of them. We are called to be peacemakers. Peace-doers. Peace-creators. Children of God.

My beloved friends, it’s our time to stand together in peace. What a challenge. What a humbling challenge. But what a blessing we have the opportunity to be…