Doves On Distant Oaks

Being a Peacemaker

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.–Matthew 5:9

This beatitude is most likely the most misunderstood. What it does is point out the danger of apply our own definition to biblical terms. It's so important to understand the meaning behind the words because very often, they don't really match with what we think it does. We can sit all day and offer opinions about what a word means, but the best course is to look it up, even the simple terms like peacemaker.

To most of us, a peacemaker is one who steps in between opposing parties to bring a cessation of conflict. This can be as involved at something at the international level, or as basic as within our own families. Growing up, I had an older brother and younger sister who were like oil and water. They just didn't mix and often fought like cats and dogs. I was always the one to step between them and try to resolve the problem. I was called the peacemaker in the family and that's exactly what we think the word here means.

However, I was always confused by the apparent contradiction between the Jesus who spoke about peace in this beatitude and the Jesus who said, "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." That just didn't add up, but every time we hit a contradiction, we must realize its only a contradiction of our own understanding—we just haven't understood enough yet. This is the perfect example.

There are several forms of peace in the Bible. In Greek, these are:

eirēneuō (i-rane-YOO-o), which means to live in peace or harmony.
eirēnē (i-rah-NAY), which means a state of peace in the civil sense.
eirēnikos (i-ray-nee-KOS), which means like-minded or of one soul.
eirēnopoieō (i-ray-nop-oy-EH-o), which means to reconcile man to God.

A derivative of the last one is the one used in this beatitude and it is only used here—it's the only place in the Bible where it comes up. The word is eirēnopoios (i-ray-nop-oy-os) which means an ambassador who comes to bring a peace that, based on the root word, is the kind of peace reconciling man to God.

That's suddenly very different, isn't it?

Here, Jesus is telling us that we are the bringers of the Gospel of Peace to the world. It is not earthly civil peace between men—the lack of warfare—that Christ tells us to bring, but peace between God and man. Its a reconciliation with God, bringing man back into divine favor that was lost at the Garden of Eden. And our reconciliation with God can only come through Jesus Christ, which is the very foundation on which our belief is based. So basically, Jesus is telling us to spread the Word of God.

That's very different from stepping in to stop your siblings from fighting.

And the consequence: to be called the sons of God. Yes, we are adopted as children of God when we receive salvation, but this means not only to become heirs, but to be loved by God as a father loves his children. It's generally applied to those who worship Him. We know we are loved, everyone is loved, but its nice to know we are deeply cherished.