Peacemakers (part 3)

Call To Prayer 

Title:  Peacemakers (part 3) 

By: Njuacha Hubert 

Date: 21.11.2022 

“to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” Hebrews 12:24  
 

Today I will be giving the third and final part of my series on peace-making. In the first part, we saw that Christ Jesus gives us peace and we need to guard that peace by praying always and not worrying (Philippians 4:6-7). Then in the second part, we saw that since we have received Jesus, the peacemaker is our true identity (Mathew 5:9 and Galatians 3:36) and that we should be ready to go the extra mile to make peace such as being the first to ask for forgiveness (Mathew 5:23). The next very important ingredients I have to share to live out our calling of peacemakers is forgiveness and communication.  

Jesus lived out this ministry of reconciliation and peacemaking until His last breath on the cross. On that cross, while He was dying, He said “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23: 24). That’s why our opening verse says His blood speaks better things than the blood of Abel. That is, instead of crying out for vengeance, His blood cries out for mercy. If Jesus never forgave us on that cross, I am not sure we would have been forgiven, and consequently, be saved. That’s how peace came between God and man. Now you see why forgiveness is so important. People try to repay evil for evil and then there is an endless cycle of evil and that is one of the reasons we have conflicts and wars. When we forgive then we open doors for reconciliation. It is a powerful expression of love that can melt even the most hardened heart (Romans 12:17-21, by doing good to an enemy you are already forgiving the enemy). Remember that we are talking about this forgiveness here because God has forgiven us through Jesus Christ before calling us to forgive. 

Communication is also a key to peace-making. Proverbs 15:1 says: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”. The Bible says in Proverbs 10:10,  “Someone who holds back the truth causes trouble, but one who openly criticizes works for peace.” There are trivial issues that we can just overlook and forgive but when an issue is serious or you are really offended, as a peacemaker proverb 10:10 tells us to speak it out and address it. We ought not to build up grudges and store them up but to speak up and resolve issues while they are few. In this way, our hearts are clean towards each other. Also, there are times when you can’t resolve a misunderstanding or conflict between just the two of you. The Bible says you should take up to an elder (or just a brother/sister) to help resolve the issue (Mathew 18:15-17).  

Prayer Point:  

Let’s thank God for His mercy and for reconciling us to Himself through Jesus Christ. We pray for that grace to respond to this by being His agents of peace. Peacemakers!