Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons [daughters] of God. (Matthew 5:9, NKJV).
Dear God, in a world where peace seems almost none existent, please help us to share Your peace with those with whom we come in contact. In the holy name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
It is hard to believe that there was a period on earth when peace was the order of the day. When sin entered our planet that feeling of peacefulness left; because peace and sin are mutually exclusive. Before sin, in a peaceful Paradise I imagine it was the joy of Adam and Eve to meet and talk with their Maker. I can imagine them sharing with God the special lessons they were learning in nature in their beautiful Garden home. I can hear them chuckling as they share with their Best Friend the things they were discovering about each other. They were happy and free.
Then one day sin enters Paradise and paradise is no more. Suddenly, a sensation that they have never felt before grips them. They do not know what this strange feeling is called. But before the day is over their feelings and vocabulary will undergo a drastic change. Listen to some of the things that happened that day: “And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:8, KJV). Sin had begun its work of evil – it separated Adam and Eve from their Creator.
Before the entrance of sin Adam is deeply in love with his new bride, his equal, his friend. Listen to the way he describes her: “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” (Genesis 2:3). After the entrance of sin the description of his bride suffers a complete change: ” And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living” (3:20). She no longer shares his name. He begins to distance himself from her. Her name is no longer linked to his. She is not considerd his flesh and bone any longer. She is simply mother of all living. Sin has done its woeful deed once again. It has separated man from his other half.
Notice the change in the entire atmosphere: “And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (3:9,10. Emphasis provided.). Humankind develops a negative fear of God).
“And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat” (12. Emphasis provided). Blame comes between the once happy couple and God.
“And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat” (13. Emphasis provided.). God is blamed.
So Jesus, the Prince of Peace came to our world and brought with Him His peace. When He was leaving to go back to the Father He left this peace with us, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14: 27).
Notice that Jesus said His peace was unlike the peace of the world. The peace of the world is a dependent peace. It depends on the existing conditions in our world and in our individual lives. When all the bills are paid; when all the relationships are going well; when we and our loved ones are healthy; when the boss and our coworkers love us, there is peace. But if any of these conditions are missing our peace dwindles or disappears.
To be a peacemaker we must possess peace and be possessed by it. We all know that we cannot share what we do not have. We need the independent peace of Christ within us. “He is our Peace” (Ephesians 2:14)! Those who have the Son have His peace, and they take it wherever they go. They are peacemakers because they are the children of God. Happy are they!