We human beings are not naturally peacemakers. On the contrary: we’re naturally trouble-makers. A few years ago a group of people tried walking across America on a mission of peace. They couldn't get along and divided into two groups by the time they were half way across.
According to the statistics, there have 14,553 known wars from 36 BC to date. Since 1945 there have been over 70 wars and more than 200 significant outbreaks of violence. From 1958 over 100 nations have been involved in one way or another in armed conflict of some kind. In the over 3,100 years of recorded world history, the world has only been at peace 8% of the time, or a total of 286 years, and 8,000 treaties have been made and broken. Someone once said, “Peace is that glorious moment in history when everyone stops to reload.”
What is peace, anyway?
It’s an extremely important biblical concept. The Hebrew word is “shalom”, and it means far more than the absence of war. It includes righteousness, justice, prosperity, health and wholeness. There are at least 400 direct references to peace in the Bible, and many more indirect references. God is the creator of peace, the giver of peace, in fact the God of peace. [Rom 15:33; 2 Cor 13:11; Phil 4:9].
The garden of Eden was a place of peace at the beginning of creation, but lost it in the Fall. Peace between God and man was destroyed, peace between man and wife was destroyed, peace between humans and creation was destroyed, and peace between brothers was destroyed. Christ restored peace between God and man through His death on the cross. And at the real end of history, not the one proclaimed by historian Fukuyama back in the 90’s, peace in all its other dimensions will be restored at last when we are ruled by the “Prince of peace.”
Peace grows where God rules.
The reason there is so little peace in the world is because of sin. You won’t get rid of war by eliminating poverty, or oppression, or ignorance. It’s not that simple. The war in Sudan, they say, was due to oppression of the Christian and animist south from the Muslim government. Well, the South got its independence, and now the southern tribes have been fighting against each other ever since. Sin seeks power over others; sin puts self first; sin is never satisfied. And sin can disguise itself as idealism. The reason communism and socialism are so attractive to so many was because they offer solutions to the enduring human problems of poverty and injustice... and yet what does it lead to? More poverty, and more injustice. Just look at Venezuela.
God’s peace is characterized by both prosperity and justice, but there aren’t any shortcuts. God doesn’t have a “system” like communism that coerces people into peaceful co-existence. As long as our sin natures rule, the inevitable inequalities will cause envy, resentment, jealousy, misunderstanding, accusations and counter-accusations, and eventually open conflict, whether it’s between individuals or between nations. We may think that we can attain peace by having everyone just stop fighting, to compromise, to lay down their arms and join hands - by being nice, in fact, and sharing, just as we were taught to do in kindergarten. Kumbaya, remember? And it’s a start. But it won’t last, because without radical, fundamental changes in values and world view, the peace purchased by coercion and maintained by blue-bereted troops isn’t deep enough, and it isn’t broad enough. It’s a superficial peace that denies the underlying reality. Conflict will always erupt.
God’s peace is not the same as the world’s peace - even though people filled with God’s peace DO bring peace to the world.
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.”[Jn.14:27] His peace doesn’t involve outward circumstances and doesn’t depend on the United Nations, treaties, truces or arbitration. It is above all else an inward tranquility that manifests itself in complete trust in the love and sovereignty of God. God’s peace “surpasses all understanding.” [Phil.4:7] It comes from His presence in our lives, and our knowledge that God is in control of everything that happens to it. God’s presence in our lives protects us from all of those inward attitudes that lead to wars.
God’s presence protects us from greed. Paul writes to Timothy, “Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” [1 Tim 6:6-9] And the author of Hebrews admonishes, “Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” [Heb 13:5]
God’s presence in our lives protects us from anxiety.“Blessed are those who trust in YHWH... They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. [Jer 17:7-8] Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.”[1 Peter 5:7]
God’s presence in our lives protects us from being touchy and defensive, from holding on to grievances. “Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers, for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. “[Ps 37:1-2] “...you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you serve the Lord Christ. For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong has been done...” [Col 3:24-25]
God’s presence protects us from pride: “... I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. “[Rom 12:3] “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” [1 Cor 1:31] “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.” [Phil 2:3]
We have God’s peace because we have God’s presence. But God’s peace doesn’t necessarily mean our lives will be free from conflict. Peace has a price: The price God paid for our peace was the cross of Christ. Nothing we pay can come close to that. But there’s a cost for us as well.
Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” [Mat.10:34] This seems to contradict today's beatitude. But it doesn’t. Jesus brought God’s peace, not the world’s peace. Accepting God’s peace comes at a cost which many people are simply not willing to pay. Just as the elusive peace in the Middle East means that two sides have to give up certain things, before anyone can receive God’s peace he or she must also give up some things - things sometimes almost as dear as life itself: perhaps dreams, identity, memories...
That takes us right back to the first Beatitude: the poverty of spirit that comes before anything else. In order to receive God’s peace we have to give up our idea that we are somehow more righteous, more deserving than others. We have to give up our idea that we have rights that God - or the state - or someone - is obliged to satisfy. And that’s a hard truth to swallow.
The sword Jesus brought, the “sword of division”, refers to the hostility that comes from those who refuse to acknowledge or obey God. The world is hostile to those who do not bow to its rule, whether we raise our voices in open challenge or not. And to make things even more interesting, God actually calls us to be a prophetic voice in a sinful world, which is dangerous. People have lost their jobs for daring to voice Christian viewpoints on the sexual anarchy that our society promotes. Sweden passed a constitutional amendment during 2002 which included sexual orientation among a list of groups protected from being targeted by “unfavorable speech.” The law protects persons of all sexual orientations equally. In practice, it will probably only be used to criminalize verbal attacks on homosexuals and those bisexuals who engage in same sex behavior. In June of 2004, a Pentecostal pastor was convicted of directing hate speech against homosexuality during a sermon in his church. He was sentenced to one month in jail. Standing up for principles may very well mean more than just being called names.
What does it mean to be peacemakers?
“God has called us to peace,” [1 Cor.7:15] to a “ministry of reconciliation.” [2 Cor.5:18] Many good and well-meaning people strive for peace, working for justice and prosperity all over the world. And this is good, but unless it is firmly rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ the results will be temporary.
A missionary named Don Richardson went out to Irian Jaya some 30 or so years ago. He and his wife lived among a stone-age tribe, learning the language, building relationships, and trying to communicate with them the love of Jesus Christ. But for some reason, every time he told the story of Easter week, and Jesus’ betrayal and death on the cross, they would applaud Judas as the hero. You see, in their culture, betrayal of friendship was a good thing; being able to outwit your enemy was a mark of cleverness, of power. He was at a loss for a long time, frustrated, almost in despair because this was so contrary to everything we believe about how people should relate to one another. But one day he learned of a practice they had of making peace between tribes with what they called a “peace child.” What it took was for one family, one father and mother, to come forward to the tribal elders and offer to give up their newborn child. With due ceremonies, this child was then given to the neighboring tribe for them to raise. As long as the child lived, there would be peace between the tribes.
Don Richardson immediately realized that this was what he had been waiting for... and he explained that Jesus was God’s Peace Child, who would never die.
Only the peace that is founded on Jesus will last.
And so in addition to any work that we might do to alleviate suffering, to confront sin and poverty and injustice, in order to be true peace-makers we must also help others towards peace with God. And before any offer of God’s peace can be credible, we have to be people of peace ourselves, as Paul says, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” [Rom.12:18] This is possible even when circumstances call us to confront sin.
Clarence Thomas was referring to this difficult balance in a speech before the American Enterprise Institute, when he reminded his listeners that the demand for civility should never lead us to abandon our principles. Liberal commentators jumped on him for that, but all he meant was that civility does not require silence. We can almost always find some point of agreement to build, on; we can contend without being contentious, disagree without being disagreeable and confront without being abusive. Eph.4:15 tells us to “speak the truth in love.” We never back away from the truth, but we must always deliver it in a spirit of love.
Pastor Coy Wylie tells a marvelous story about Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones, who were “on the outs” over a very trivial matter. This deeply concerned Deacon Brown, so he prayed that he might be a peacemaker. He called on Smith and asked, “What do you think of Jones?” “He's the meanest crank in the neighborhood!” “But,” said Brown, “you have to admit that he’s very kind to his family.” The next day Brown went to Jones and inquired, "Do you know what Smith said about you?” “No, but I can imagine how that scamp would lie about me!” “This may surprise you, but he said you’re very kind to your family.” “What! Did Smith say that?” “Yes, he did.” “Well, if you hadn't told me, I wouldn’t believe it.” “What do you think of Smith?” asked Deacon Brown. “Truthfully, I believe he’s a lowdown scalawag, but you have to admit that he’s very honest in business.” “Yes, there’s no getting around that; in business he’s a man you can trust.” The next day Brother Brown called on Smith again. "You know what Jones said about you? He claims you’re a fellow that really can be trusted in business, and that you’re scrupulously honest.” “You mean it?” “Yes, I do,” said Brown. “Well of all things,” replied Smith with a happy smile. The next Sunday the former “enemies” nodded to each other. Brown continued his “meddling” until the next annual business meeting of the church when Smith and Jones shook hands and finally voted on the same side!
You see, Deacon Brown spoke the truth - but he spoke it in love, and the seeds of true peace were planted. But it won’t last until both Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones face themselves, find themselves wanting, and turn to Christ.
Without Christ, the only thing that keeps the peace are outside pressures: laws, police, soldiers, a common enemy... Without Christ, the minute these outside pressures relax a bit, the brush-fires flare up again.
Sin causes conflict, as James tells us:
Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want some-thing and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. [Js 4:1-2]
The only solution to sin is the cross. Only the rule of God can change human beings from trouble-makers into peace-makers. Let us be instruments of his peace, the only true and lasting peace - not intimidated by the sword of the world’s hostility - by bringing the word of God, the light of God, and the rule of God into every place we go. And “we will not fear, for God has willed his truth to triumph through us.”
