Matthew 5: 1: And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, ….. 9: Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Peace is tough to produce. In a world of accusations and self seeking, most want to know quickly, “What’s in it for me?”. That rarely leads to peace. But, we can have peace both inside and out. It takes work.
Nothing soothes the soul like peace. One who makes peace is always welcome. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He will keep you in perfect peace if you stay your mind on him. With prayer, you can ensure your heart and mind are guarded by peace. He is a Shepherd of still waters and quiet resting places. He is peace. These are all promises. And they take work.
Following Him in the peacemaking business will grant you “child of God” status. Hmmmm.. Others are impressed, when you lead to peace what is a troubled situation. Others are impacted when you take a conflict and bring it to resolution. Peace or conflict affects so many people around you that everyone notices the peacemaker. They like to be treated with a peacemaking mentality. People just love it. They will call you a child of God, they love it so much.
The normal way of making peace in organizations is to eliminate one of the parties. Now that is not conflict resolution. Neither is separating them a resolution. That is not peace but tolerance for war and selfishness. Real peace brings the parties together. That is a tougher way of resolution, but the best.
At first peace must be found internally. Our own angsts have to be quiesced. When we are struggling inside, it can be impossible to be at peace with others. The pain just keeps erupting into conversations and communications.
A friend walked into a hectic computer facility some years ago. As he recounts the story, another worker looked straight at him and commented on his peaceful attitude. He laughed. He had felt anything but peaceful. Problems had been growing in number and impact on the company. The constant push and pull had wearied him. Yet, the other person saw was peace. Yes, he had helped many others resolve conflicts. Yes, he tried to put it all on God instead of carrying it. It just made him laugh to think that they saw peace and he felt turmoil. The work of peace in him and on him from the Father amazed him. It was impacting others and he did not realize that fact.
No slick answers here. Just a reminder that peace is work the work. There are promises from the Prince of Peace that He can make it work in you and out of you. Let Him. Work on it.
ACT! Do you make peace with yourself? Do you make peace with others? Do you make peace for others? Think about a situation with strain exists. Don’t pick a conflict, just a strained issue. Take time to speak some encouragement and confidence to the other person before conflict develops.
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