One day, I watched two brothers in a heated argument. The first one was very angry and struggling to hear what his brother had to say. The second brother humbly went to his knees to plead with his brother to calm down and think through his actions.
A year later, the first brother is facing assault charges for a separate situation.
This story is short and it is sad, but it is a reminder to me of God's heart for us as believers. The second brother knew his brother. He knew that it wasn't wise to keep fighting with him when it wasn't making a difference. Instead he knew that he should be a peacemaker. He should try to help his brother to put away his anger.
Romans 14:9 says, "So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another."
As I read this verse, I thought how simple it should be for the peacemaker. The peacemaker should always stay calm and be loving. However, it really isn't that simple. As shown in my story, families that love each other can still have trouble. Maybe you have a relative with alcohol or drug dependency or a family member with a mental illness. These issues are not fun. More issues like violence or stealing can be results of those initial problems. So what would God have for us to do in these situations and relationships?
Here are 3 goals for the peacemaker:
1. Try to be at peace with everyone. Sometimes this means saying sorry to someone you have offended. Other times this means not saying what is on your mind....ask yourself, does it really need to be said? Will it bless our relationship? For some, you might need to stop avoiding a person and show them love through actions or words. God desires for us to always try to have peace with everyone, especially those who really need relationship with us like family and friends.
Romans 12:18 says, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men."
2. God wants to bless our lives. He wants us to live with joy, happiness, peace, and love. We can't make the world a perfect place. Peace on earth doesn't happen when there is free will. Free will allows people to make their own decisions. They might decide to steal from you or lie. But God knew this, so he wanted us as believers to still know that their would be benefit for us as we work towards whatever peace is possible.
Matthew 5:9 says "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Proverbs 12:20 says, "Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, But counselors of peace have joy." These verses are a good reminder that if we keep our hearts focused on peace that we will have joy and give God joy. We can't change everything and maybe we don't see that we made a difference, but we can still live in that peace and joy if we have done our part to keep peace!
3. Prayer might be the only course of action that God has for you. There is a time when it is unwise to be around those that might hurt you or your family. Maybe they are always causing stress by lying or trying to cause division in your home. We do need to guard our hearts and minds, but also to keep our children and families strong and safe.
Romans 16:17-18 says, " I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.
For some of us this is verse and these reminders are enough for us to step back from a relationship and just pray. For those who truly love to be peacemakers, this will probably be a hard goal. We have to be reminded that prayer works and that if we really keep our hearts focused on God then we can walk through this goal. God loves those people even more than us and sometimes, we need to really put our faith in that and pray without stopping.
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