Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9
When you hear the term “peacemaker,” who do you think of? The Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, John Lennon? As noble as the efforts of some people have been in promoting peace, these are not the kind of people Jesus was referring to when He said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (5:9).
Notice what Jesus said: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God” (KJV). The first thing to note is that a peacemaker is a Christian—not a Christian in name only but a person who has put his or her personal faith and trust in Christ. They are not children of God because they are peacemakers; they are peacemakers because they are children of God.
What is a Peacemaker?
So what, then, is a peacemaker? Simply a believer who actively seeks peace: “Pursue peace with all people” (Hebrews 12:14). As Christians, we should be the most peaceable people in the world, both in our personal lives and in the world around us.
Some people have an ideology of world peace but can’t even get along with the people in their home or neighborhood. Jesus brings peacemaking down to the person in the cubicle next to us, the person sharing our house, the person sitting next to us in church. We can talk all we want about world peace, but if we don’t promote peace on a personal level, we miss the point.
Peace with God
The ultimate objective of the peacemaker is seen in bringing people into a relationship with Christ, bringing them to a place of having peace with God. We read in Romans 10:15, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things.” When we think of peacemakers, we need to think of those who are sharing the gospel and bringing about reconciliation between God and men. Reconciling sinners to God through Christ is the ultimate act of peacemaking.
Paul wrote, “As much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18). If you are truly one of God’s sons or daughters, a partaker of His very nature, peacemaking will be one of the marks of your life.