It Takes Courage to be a Peacemaker
In yesterday’s post, I began addressing the division and animosity that is rampant in our nation. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.1 Those are Jesus’s words, and we would do well to heed our Lord’s advice. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.2
Where are the peacemakers in the church today? Where are those men and women who in the words of the prophet Ezekiel are willing to stand in the gap on behalf of the land?3
The gap in our nation is wide. The wall is crumbling, the rocks tumbling to the ground. Meanwhile, those who should serve as peacemakers and wall builders are picking up the pieces of that fallen wall and hurling them at one another. And the more rocks they throw, the more vitriol they spew, the more they demonize the “others,” the more their poll numbers go up, the more votes they are sure to get, and the more their viewers and ratings go up.
Consider with me how James, the half-brother of Jesus (same mother, different fathers), and the lead pastor of the church in Jerusalem, describes the difference between worldly wisdom and heavenly wisdom -
Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct, let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. (Bold italics, mine.)4
I remember a song from a few years back by Hank Williams Jr. Stir it Up was the title, and in that song, Hank sang about those on the Left and those on the Right playing that controversy game. “The world’s got enough trouble without you stirring it up,” he sings. And Hank was just bold enough to name names. Names, I might add, on the Left and the Right. You can listen to Hank’s song here.
But back to what James says about the difference between worldly wisdom and heavenly wisdom -
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.5
Peaceable, open to reason, impartial; I’m not seeing these things in the politically charged Christianity so rampant in our churches and nation today. “Choir Boy Wisdom,” which I described in yesterday’s post, will never produce peacemakers.
As a boy, I loved reading Superman comic books. Truth, justice, and the American way was the theme of the man from Krypton, the hero of America. Sadly, lies and injustice are becoming the norm as our nation totters on the brink of disaster. And that disaster is not coming from an enemy outside the gates; it’s coming from within our walls.
We don’t need to build another wall in the United States; we need to repair the one we are quickly destroying with our misplaced faith and worldly wisdom.
A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
To be a peacemaker in today’s hostile, winner-take-all environment takes courage. It demands nothing less than the radical peacemaking discipleship Jesus calls us to. We must be willing to lose our lives to save them, to abandon our choir boy wisdom, and stand in the gap as peacemakers, building bridges between those whose lives and politics are fueled by anger and hostility.
Yes, we can be certain that as we seek to restack the fallen stones in the wall of our nation, there will be many who continue to cast those stones. And let’s not be naive; many of those stones will be cast at us, coming from both the Left and the Right.
Let’s seek to be the best citizens we can be as followers of Jesus. And let’s heed our Lord’s words to “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.” But let’s not give to Caesar what belongs to God.
In Christ,
Dan
P.S. In tomorrow’s post, I’m going to be looking at the words of Jesus to those religious leaders who sought to brand him as a troublemaker, set against the mighty Roman empire.
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Matthew 12:25.
Matthew 5:9.
Ezekiel 22:30.
James 3:13-16.
James 3:17-18.