But that’s not what peace is. That’s just a truce. General McArthur said "A truce just says you don’t shoot for awhile. Peace comes when the truth is known, the issue is settled, & the parties embrace each other."
Peacemakers don’t just try to stop conflict. They’re doing something far more meaningful, something healing and restoring. They try to bring about reconciliation and relationship, even if it means going through the conflict.
ILL: I had friends who once got into a conflict situation. One was a single guy who had taken the others, a couple, out one evening. But the evening went so late that it put them and their babysitter out. They had quite a heated but honest discussion, and do you know what? Their friendship grew! That couple could have just avoided the whole thing, but they confronted the truth in love and a deeper relationship resulted.
The cross was the greatest act of violence and conflict possible. In fact, much of Jesus ministry involved conflict and confrontation. He wasn’t afraid of it because he was committed in love to working through that if need be to bring reconciliation.
Peacemakers don’t try to stop conflict, they work for reconciliation.
From Alex Huggett’s Sermon "Blessed Are the Peacemakers"