Don’t Miss Out—Make The Beatitudes—Your “BE-attitudes!”   PART 8- Peacemakers

Thus far, we’ve learned that we will be BLESSED if our “BE-attitudes;” that is, “attitudes for living” reflect that we: 

1. Are “poor in spirit,” that is, completely dependent upon God; 

2. “Mourn,” that is, have a strong aversion for sin;

3. Are “meek,” that is, submit our will to God so His strength courses freely through us; 

4. Hunger and thirst for righteousness; 

5. Are merciful; and 

6. Are pure in heart.

Jesus next teaches us:

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

Matthew 5:9

It’s interesting that Jesus isn’t describing someone who LIVES IN peace; but rather those who BRING ABOUT peace. We all desire lasting peace; but are we willing to do the hard work of bringing peace to our world, our country, our community, and our family? Where in the world do we start in a world full of so much ugliness and contention? My friend…

It begins with Jesus, who IS the Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

This title is well-deserved since His life of sacrifice produced the Gospel; AND—the Gospel reconciles humanity to the peace of God. 

So how do we become peacemakers? 

First and foremost—we must HAVE peace if we want to SPREAD peace. We CANNOT have peace unless we are first born again! Then we become powerful peacemakers by spreading the Gospel. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation and the only way to reconcile humanity from the tumult and anxiety of sin—into a relationship with the Prince of Peace. 

Sin destroys peace; the Gospel restores it.

When we are born again, we have the opportunity to become intimate with Jesus. But we must be discipled and we must learn to share the Gospel! I spent 7 years in undergraduate and graduate school to become an attorney. How much time and effort am I willing to dedicate to my Biblical education? Is church on Sunday and reading a daily devotional enough to make me a warrior in the warfare for lost souls? 

My friend, the Gospel is the most important peacemaking tool we possess. 

Do you know how to share the life-giving message of the Gospel? The entire reason for this website is to disciple and spread the Gospel. That’s why the devotionals are not just short thoughts—they are meant to make us warriors. I spent years as a Christian who did not know how to share the Gospel and I lost a myriad of opportunities to even share my own story of salvation. Then God, in His mercy, turned me around! Just as God set me on fire for the Gospel, so can EVERY person who is reading these words and who has been born again—ALSO become a peacemaker! 

My son and daughter-in-law are peacekeepers against terrorists and dictators. They fly the $52 million dollar AH-64 Apache attack helicopter for the U.S. Army. They are highly qualified and trained. Not just anyone can perform their brand of peacekeeping. But if you are a born again believer, you have an even more powerful tool for making peace: The Gospel. When we make our individual peace with God through salvation, we should passionately dedicate ourselves to becoming equipped to bring His peace to others. If you had the cure for cancer, wouldn’t you want everyone to have it??? We have something much better—the cure for sin and eternal hell!

In Christ, the Prince of Peace, we possess the power to also heal people’s souls.

Peacekeeping through the spread of the Gospel is the responsibility of EVERY born again believer. It’s not just the job of the preacher or the deacon—it’s my job and yours. AND when these amazing BE-attitudes are prevalent in our life, we have GREAT credibility when we share the Gospel. The truth of the Gospel should ride upon the evidence of God’s love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, gentleness, meekness in our life! When these fruits of God’s Spirit flow from us—people really listen!

I mean—who can argue with someone demonstrating these remarkable qualities of Christ?

When we are determined to divorce ourselves from the darkness of sin and live with a pure heart, we will see God more as He is—and as we do—it will transform us and others will see Him in us. Sin causes conflict and we cannot make peace if we are a party to the conflict. This is true whether we’re the one CAUSING the conflict or the one INJURED by the conflict. We must mourn over sin and repent; we must hunger and thirst after righteousness; we must desire to be pure in heart! These qualities cause the love of God to shine through us and people see it and—they want what we have!

A close relationship with God gives us peace that passes understanding and when others see it—we can point them to Jesus. 

So now we know what a peacemaker is; but what does Jesus mean by we “shall be called the sons of God?” Well, as these BE-attitudes are developed, we are not only passionate about the spread of the Gospel message, but our life becomes more like Jesus—who is God. When people see us, they see more of Jesus and less of us. When others see our peace and see us bringing peace—they know we are children of God. Wow! 

Tomorrow we will study the very last section of the beatitudes. This has been such an inspiring spiritual growth journey for me. I hope and pray it has been for you as well!