Blessed Are the Peacemakers
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November 03, 2013 |
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 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9).
Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
People tend to avoid people who have rough manners or who do not communicate with common courtesy. This is because if you talk with them, then anxiety is imminent. If you have discomfort in your heart towards people despite having no argument or conflicts, can you say you are trying to establish true peace? Only when you humble yourself, harbor them in your heart, and lift them up can there be true peace with them.
Jesus came to the earth to fulfill the duty of the Savior. He had peace with all men. He didn't have peace only with people of goodness, educated people, and kind and obedient people, but He also served people who lacked education, who had ill manners, who were sinners, and who were tax collectors. He served them with love and made peace with them all.
God wants His beloved children to have peace with all men in the Lord and He will give such peacemakers great blessings. Let's look into the meanings of the peace God wants from us and the blessings given to the peacemakers.
1. Jesus Made Peace by Sacrificing Himself
Sin entered the world when Adam, the first man ate the forbidden fruit, and all his descendants became sinners. There was now a wall of sin between men and God. It is as written in Colossians 1:21, "You were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds," meaning that men were alienated from God because of sins.
Romans 6:16 says, "Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?" Because Adam obeyed the enemy devil and committed sin, everyone after him became a sinner.
All mankind had become sinners. To bring peace between God and men, sinless Jesus was crucified. Jesus became the atoning sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins and He brought peace between God and men (Colossians 1:20).
Jesus sacrificed Himself fully and completely in the crucifixion for human beings who had become sinners. In this way He opened the way to salvation for us and gained countless children of God. In the same manner, we can bear beautiful fruit of peace when we sacrifice ourselves and serve others everywhere—at home, our workplaces, in church…everywhere.
Hebrews 12:14 says, "Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord." Thus, we should be able to have peace even with those who dislike us, hate us, or cause us difficulties. Even though it seems that we are absolutely right, if the other person is having a hard time or is uncomfortable because of us, it is not right in the sight of God. Then, how can we have peace with all men? To have peace, we should consider others and help them understand how to make changes for the better little by little.
2. To Become a Peacemaker
1) Have peace with God
If we commit sins, a wall of sin will block us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). Therefore, to have peace with God is having no wall of sin resulting from sins existing between God and us. When we accept Jesus Christ, we are forgiven of all sins that we have committed until that moment. Because of this, the wall of sin between God and us is destroyed, and peace is established. But if we keep on committing sins after our sins were forgiven, we break peace with God again.
Therefore, when we repent of our sins, turn back and live by the Word of God, we can have true peace with God. Then we can also receive blessings as His children. If we have a disease, we will be healed and made healthy. If we have financial difficulties, the problem will go away and we will be rich. In this way, we fulfill our hearts' desires.
2) Have peace with yourself
As long as we have hatred, envy, jealousy and other kinds of evil, they will be agitated according to the situation. Then, we will suffer because of them and we cannot have peace. There is a Korean saying that goes, "When your cousin buys land, you get a stomachache." This is expression of envy. One will suffer because of envy, not liking the situation where others are well-off.
Likewise, as long as we have envy, jealousy, arrogance, quarreling, adulterous minds, and other forms of evil in our hearts, we cannot have peace. The Holy Spirit in us will also groan, so our heart will feel distressed. Therefore, to have peace with ourselves, we have to cast off evil from our heart and follow the desires of the Holy Spirit.
3) Have peace with all men
A person breaks peace because he is unable to understand the standpoint of others and will not embrace them. For instance, let's say that he is working on a certain project with fervor. But his fervor causes others in the same group to feel uncomfortable and he does not know it. Although some of the others do not want the project to go on, he just pushes ahead with it and thinks, 'I chose things good for the kingdom of God.' Of course, his fervor for the kingdom of God will be loved by the Lord, but His heart will ache due to those who lose heart or have their feeling hurt.
Therefore, as long as it is not untruth, it is more proper to have peace with others considering their weak faith. We have to keep in mind that God will be more pleased with small things done by all group members in peace than great achievement by a few of them.
3. They Shall Be Called Sons of God
If one has anger and discomfort in heart, is hot-tempered and brings about arguments and quarrels, it means that he is not a peacemaker. Then, does it mean he is not a child of God? This verse contains deeper spiritual meaning.
'Sons of God' here include women as well as men, that is, all of God's children. 'Sons of God' refers to God's children who cast away every form of evil, achieved the goodness and love of God, and resembled Him. They are completely different from those who are just saved. People can become God's children after they accept Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Spirit, but the measures of their faith are all different.
In other words, some have 'faith of little children' that is the faith given to gain salvation and some others have 'faith of children' the level where they get to know God. Some others have 'faith of young men' that is the faith to drive away the enemy devil and Satan. Still others have 'faith of fathers' that is attaining to the whole measure of knowing God who is the Creator and who has existed from before the beginning.
Here, 'the peacemakers' are God's children who attain to the 'faith of fathers'. That is to say, they are God's beloved children who accomplished God's beautiful goodness, love, and heart. They can receive answers to whatever they ask for and blessings. They also receive authority and power from God so the enemy devil and Satan tremble with fear and go away from them.
If we become peacemakers and are called the 'sons of God', we can enter the most beautiful heavenly dwelling place New Jerusalem that houses God's throne and dwell forever in the shining glory like the sun.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I pray in the name of the Lord that by casting away every form of evil and achieving the beautiful and good heart of the Lord who loves even enemies, you will always maintain peace with God, yourself, and all men as God's children.
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