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"Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God."
(Matthew 5:9)
How does one become a peacemaker?
The way one becomes a peacemaker is by first getting to know the God of peace. Scripture tells us how to do this. John 1:12 states, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name." Galatians 3:26, says, "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus."
Today I invite you to believe in Jesus Christ, receive Him as your personal Savior and Lord, repent, and turn from your sins. God will save you and bring you into a relationship with Him. Let me read these words by John Piper again, as he states it so well: "God has sacrificed his own Son and now declares amnesty free and clear to any who will lay down their arms of independence and come home to faith."
Steve Jobs was a brilliant, eccentric genius no doubt. At one point he became so engrossed in his work, he would not bathe, and this caused trouble among his work associates because he smelled so bad. Jobs was very gifted, creative, and wealthy, but not a peacemaker. Unfortunately, he did not know Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. In a USA Today article, it says, "Jobs fell out with Christianity early in life and became a Buddhist. 'The juice goes out of Christianity when it becomes too based on faith rather than on living like Jesus or seeing the world as Jesus saw it,' he said. 'I think different religions are different doors to the same house. Sometimes, I think the house exists, and sometimes, I don't. It's the great mystery.'" (See also Walter Isaacson's biography, Steve Jobs, p. 15.)
I could not help but think of Jesus' ominous, penetrating words in Mark 8:36-37: "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"
If you know Christ as Savior and Lord, how do you maintain your role as peacemaker? How do you watch your words carefully, keep the gospel central, be positive, and diffuse peace wherever you go? You do this by staying in fellowship with God daily through prayer, Bible study, and being in community with the people of God, His church. You are not alone; the Lord helps us walk with Him in this world. Jesus said in John 16:33, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
Let me close by encouraging you to be a person of peace, one who fosters and promotes peace with God, with your family, within your neighborhood, profession, and in your church. Do as James 1:19 says, "Be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath." When you come upon a crisis, complaint, or some other difficult situation, handle it with care and prayer and no complaining. Be a peacemaker and become part of the solution, not the problem.
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