Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Blessed are the Peacemakers


For they will be called sons of God! Last night we watched a documentary called “180,” which was super intense.  It got me thinking about a book we read for class that was based on the 8 beatitudes, in particular about what it means to be a peacemaker.

The biggest thing I’m learning is the difference between being a peacekeeper and a peacemaker.  A peacekeeper sweeps things under the rug while a peacemaker attacks a problem head on in love.  They make peace where peace doesn’t currently exist.  Jesus was a peacemaker.  He wasn’t ok with people living in sin because He loved them too much to sit by and watch the enemy take control of their lives.  Even if this meant throwing stuff in the temple or confronting the hard hearts of prideful Pharisees He wanted to see people set free of the chains of sin.

Imagine if He has just tried to “keep the peace”!  He would have allowed the Pharisees to live in judgment of people who didn’t keep the law and they would never have been made aware that they themselves were living in sin.  One of the greatest things that can happen to a Christian is to recognize our sin because that means we get to repent, be forgiven, be changed and become more like Christ.

One of the most significant aspects of a peacemaker is that their heart has to be one motivated by LOVE. If they go out to make peace with a heart motivated by pride and carry a “holier-than-thou” attitude they are not going to make peace.  The goal is peace in the end, but sometimes there may be a hard conversation with some tears involved, but that’s better than you walking away and gossiping to your friends, which ends up with two people in sin.

A couple of weeks ago I was a part of a “Life Siege” which is where you put red tape over your mouth with the word LIFE written on it and you stand outside of an abortion clinic and pray for the babies, doctors, mothers, fathers and the ending of abortion in America.  The tape is supposed to represent the babies who can’t speak for themselves.  If you know me this about as far out of my comfort zone as it gets.  But what I’m realizing is that a great injustice is happening in our country, about 1.3 million people are being murdered every year (about 3700 every day).  The documentary 180 relates abortion in America to the Holocaust in the fact that murder is being legalized based on some people’s definition of what a person is (And there is actually talk in the health community right now of something called a “post birth abortion” that will allow you to “put your baby down” if you find out it isn’t completely physically or mentally healthy after it’s born http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9113394/Killing-babies-no-different-from-abortion-experts-say.html).  What I’m realizing is that as much as I don’t want to offend people and hate confrontation, if I am going to be a peacemaker I can’t simply stand by idly and let this happen. 

You may disagree with this method of standing against abortion or you might even think abortion isn’t bad.  But what I’m realizing is that if my heart is motivated by LOVE for those babies and their mothers and I believe it is murder than I have no other choice than to do something to make peace.  Undoubtedly people will be offended from time to time but I know, with LOVE as my driving force, I’m trying to save lives and keep blood of the hands of people who maybe don’t see any other option. 

I’ve always asked the question, where were all the Christians during the Holocaust?  I don’t want to be speechless if my children and grandchildren ask that same question of me about the abortion genocide. 

Being a peacemaker doesn’t have to just be on an intense level like the ending of abortion.  It starts every day you have a disagreement and the easy thing is to go home and gossip to friends and family about the character of the other person.  It’s the peacemakers who will be called sons of God.

Welp. That was heavy.

PS. I heard this stat the other day.  If one out of every ten Christians in America would adopt an orphan there would be NO ORPHANS LEFT in the world.  And if abortion is ended there will obviously be more but it is still do-able.  If we say we are against something we have to ask ourselves what we’re willing to do about it.

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