Peacemakers
“Blessed are the peacemakers:
for they shall be called the children of God.”
(Matthew 5:9)
We humans are not naturally creatures of peace. We argue, we fight, we fuss and we fume. We are selfish, and selfishness is the exact opposite of what it means to be a peacemaker.
It is common to think of a peacemaker as a naturally easygoing, peace-at-all-costs sort of person who has a dread of conflict and thus attempts to please everyone. But that is not the Biblical definition of a peacemaker.
The word translated peacemaker in this verse is simply the form of the word for peace that gives the sense of making or doing. It implies an active effort to make peace, by doing things that will make peace.
While the English word peacemaker only occurs just this once in the Bible, the same Greek word appears in the same form several other places as well, each giving us a glimpse into what it means to be a peacemaker.
Peace with the Wrongdoer
Romans 12:18-21 shows us what it means to be a peacemaker when we personally have been wronged:
“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy huger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
This passage tells us that the Christian is not to pursue vengeance or seek to take the punishment of the wicked into his or her own hands. Instead, we are actively to seek to do good to those who have wronged us, diligently finding out their needs and meeting them to the best of our ability. That is being a peacemaker.
Of course, this does not abolish the proper administration of justice: it simply means that the Christian, when wronged, can rest in the knowledge of God’s ultimate justice being done in His timing.
In the case of wrongdoing that has violated society’s laws, Scripture makes it clear that it is proper for the Christian to expect society to administer justice: the emphasis here is not that wrongdoing should never be punished, but rather that we are to leave that punishment to the proper authorities, knowing that whether or not earthly authorities are willing or able to bring the wrongdoer to justice, God is the Judge of all, and will make it right in His timing.
I am reminded of 1 Peter 4:19,
“Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.”
We can be peacemakers even to those who have done us or our loved ones wrong, because we can trust the faithfulness of our Creator, who has forgiven our own wrongdoing towards Himself.
Peace with our Surroundings
“Finally brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.” (2 Corinthians 13:11)
This verse reminds me that to live in peace, we must humbly accept the people and circumstances God has placed in our lives. We cannot make peace with those around us if we do not first have peace in ourselves!
Often, one of the things that hinders us from being the peacemakers God desires us to be is bitterness about some aspect of our life. We know God has allowed it, and plans to use it for our good, but we can’t quite bring ourselves to accept it or believe that it could be turned into anything good.
Look at the verse again and notice the things Paul told the Corinthians to do. Each one takes humility, either with God or our fellow Christians. Living in peace takes humility as well.
Those things in our lives over which we are fuming or fretting keep us from living in peace with God and with others. It is pride and selfishness that says to God, “I don’t like that part of my life, and I won’t be happy while it exists, so there!”
Until we bring those things to God, humbly confessing our pride and selfishness in surrender to His will, we will never get our focus off ourselves long enough to do anything to aid the peace of anyone else, for to be a peacemaker means to reject our natural selfishness and live with our focus on others.
Peace with our Fellow Christians
This brings us to the third passage: this time the word peacemaker is translated “at peace.”
“And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.” (1 Thessalonians 5:13)
This reminds us that we are to be a peacemaker within the church. Romans 12 tells us that the church is the body of Christ, made up of many members, with many different functions. We are, however, still sinners, saved by grace but still struggling with a sin nature.
That is why it is so vital that Christians be peacemakers. As members of the body of Christ, our purpose is to serve God. We must lay aside our selfishness, rejecting the “right” to hold grudges or demand attention. We speak that which will edify, or build up, instead of that which will tear down. We seek to live and act and react to life the way Jesus would. If we all did that, we would truly be at peace among ourselves!
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones describes the peacemaker as:
“the man whose central concern is the glory of God, and who spends his life in trying to minister to that glory.” *
To keep our eyes and hearts focused on God’s glory is to live in readiness to be a peacemaker. Of course, the ultimate way we can further peace is to share the gospel, for it is through Christ that we have peace with God. (Romans 5:1)
We can be peacemakers with those who have wronged us by actively looking for ways to do them good, as Christ did for us. And we can be peacemakers within the church by setting self aside and looking for ways to encourage and edify our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Children of God
The promise of this beatitude is that peacemakers will be called the children of God. 1 John 3:1 says,
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.”
When we live as peacemakers in this world, we display our “family resemblance” to God, who has called us His own children. The world doesn’t recognize a peacemaker. It thinks it strange and abnormal for someone to do good to their enemies with a sincere heart. It cannot understand why anyone would “put up with” the things a peacemaker overlooks, or why that peacemaker will not take vengeance on one who has wronged them when the opportunity arises.
We may have the world’s approval for a while, insomuch as our peacemaking efforts comprise just generally being a nice person, but there is a reason Romans 12:18 begins with the words, “If it be possible.”
The world is no champion of true peace. It is too much a fan of its own selfishness to applaud true selflessness for very long.
Yet, regardless of how the world perceives us, to be called the children of God should be our greatest joy, and the furtherance of His glory our greatest desire.
*D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.1996 p. 123