Blessed are the Peacemakers

 

I am naturally a peacemaker. With friends. With family. With neighbors. I dislike conflict. I'm a fixer. I like things to be peaceful. 

For the past month I have struggled with this. I have been angry and frustrated and less willing to keep the peace. I have withheld compassion, forgiveness, and mercy. And I have been miserable.

In light of the tragedy in Orlando today, I am reminded of a verse found in Matthew 5:9. Jesus is speaking and he says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God."

I am called to be a peacemaker. Even when I don't feel like it. Even when I think it is undeserved. The Father has created me to be a peacemaker. He created me this way for a purpose. In my own life. In the lives of those around me. And in this world. Oh, how desperately we need more peacemakers in this world. 

Sometimes I feel so ill-equipped  to make a difference in this harsh society. But I can choose to do my part. And my part is to be a peacemaker. 

It can't change what has happened in Orlando (or any other such situations) but it's a start. So today, I choose to be a peacemaker. Not a doormat. But a peacemaker. And I choose to love those around me because in doing so I can speak the truth in love and hopefully be heard.


"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:37-39