“BLESSED are the peacemakers for they will be called the sons of God.” We now come to the seventh Beatitude. The fourth Beatitude is a sort of pivot. In the first three we build up to hungering and thirsting after righteousness, so that we may be filled; then we come to the next three which result from this righteousness, and correspond to the first three. So if we are poor in spirit, then we will be merciful. If we are mourning over sin, then we will seek to be pure in heart. Now, if we are truly meek, then we will be peacemakers.
Then again as there is a progression through the first three beatitudes, so that being poor in spirit because of our sinfulness will lead to our mourning over our sin, and mourning over our sin will lead to being meek; so also being merciful will lead to seeking to be pure in heart, and being pure in heart will lead us to being peacemakers. So all the Beatitudes together make up true spiritual experience produced by the Spirit of God.
As I look at this seventh Beatitude it seems to me we need to see it in terms of the fact that being a peacemaker will mean we are called sons of God. The understanding of this is achieved in the same way as it was achieved with being merciful and obtaining mercy. We don’t earn sonship by being peaceable, but rather if a person is a peacemaker it shows that person is a son of God, because of the character of God shown in that person’s life. We are called peacemakers if by being a peacemaker we show the character of our Father God in our lives.
It is amazing how often God is given the title or description of the “God of peace” in the New Testament. Here are some of the references - Hebrews 13:20; Romans 8:6; Romans 15:33; Romans 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:11; Philippians 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:23. To be a peacemaker is to have the mind of Christ and the character of God. This character is expressed by Jesus in Matthew 5:44 “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and send rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
How different this is to the way of the world. In the troubles between the Palestinians and Israel today are a good example; if one side commits an atrocity towards the other, the way of gaining peace is to retaliate with an equal or greater atrocity against the other side. Peace is sought by hate, and coercion. The trouble is that peace never comes this way, for this way only exacerbates the problem and makes it worse, so peace is never achieved. Nor is peace found simply by talking. Talking is better than hitting back, but talking which comes with fixed minds, and with the determination to stand up for perceived rights, and a mind filled with the assurance that the other side is all in the wrong, never achieves peace, as has been proved in the middle east and elsewhere.
Christ was the great peacemaker. He made peace by the blood of his cross. We read this is Ephesians 2:11ff. He made peace through the cross, and so reconciled us to God and brought peace with God; and following from this he broke down the partition wall between waring human beings, and reconciled them together and made peace. This makes us enquire how such peace was achieved. It was not achieved by banging heads together; nor was it achieved coercion. Rather it was achieved by sacrificing himself for us the warring parties on the cross. He brought peace by total love, forgiveness, and mercy.
When we look at Christ, who truly lived and reflected the character of God we see the character of God, and a true peacemaker. When the Jews wanted to make him a king to lead them against the Romans, they had a totally wrong idea of the way to bring about peace, and of the ministry of their Messiah. Jesus brought peace by being ready to be reviled and become of no reputation. He did not revile back. He did not hit back, but told Peter to put his sword away and not harm those who had come to take him to unjust execution. When Jesus was being tried before the Jews and Pilate, he did not stand up for his rights or even defend himself. Jesus taught that we should turn the other cheek when people hurt us, and he exemplified this when he was abused and killed. Paul tells us that we overcome evil with good, and Jesus did just this. By his cross he overcame evil, and defeated the devil, and so frees all who come to him from the devil’s dominion. By good, that is loving us who harm him and rebel against, he wins us by amazing love.
The world can’t understand this, and can’t believe in this way. The world’s way is to seek to obtain peace by force. Instead Jesus brought peace by not hitting back, but giving himself as a sacrifice for those who harmed him. What the world can’t see is that by retaliation we don’t make anything better, but we simply exacerbate the conflict. Even if terrorists are not stopped by love, they are shamed, and they are left with no excuse for continuing their hate and terror. This loving does not mean that law and order should not be maintained, and criminals be brought to justice, but it does mean that we never hit back in anger and retaliation, and follow the principle of an eye for and eye, and a tooth for a tooth.
If we are to become peacemakers, then we must be in Christ by faith, and seek to be found in him and to know him, so that we appreciate his love, and are filled with the desire to be like him. If we have this aspiration we will be conscious of our own faults, and realise that these have contributed to the lack of peace in society. We will realise how much we need mercy and have received mercy, and so will be merciful. We will seek God with a single heart, to know him and dwell in him, so that we conform to his character. From this desire we will be humble and meek and so be deeply conscious of the faults in ourself which cause so much disharmony around us. From this we shall be ready to accept pain and sacrifice, rather than return evil for evil. We will be ready to forgive as Christ has forgiven us, and feel we have no right to judge others. From this will come a desire to live at peace with all, and be ready to come to people and see their point of view, their grievances, their pains, and also be ready to say we are sorry and humble before them. This must be sincere, and not just an outward facade. We will seek to reach out in love, and respond positively to all the grievances and wishes of others, even if it means loss for ourselves. Abraham, for the sake of peace with Lot, was ready to let him have the best, and to accept the worst, so that they may remain friends and at peace. How hard this is, but the love of Christ constrains us. We see how much Christ’s love for us is seen in what he was ready to give for us, to suffer for us, and to sacrifice for us, and we will find we are ready to follow his example. So we will find we are true sons of God, and so be peacemakers.