THE BEAUTY AND BLESSING OF BEING A PEACEMAKER

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

James 3:18

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Look at our world today and you may agree with me when I say that if there was ever a time when we need peacemakers, it’s now. Our communities, states, nations, and world are starving for it and as we see in today’s scripture passage, the Bible encourages it and underscores the beauty found in those who are ever seeking to bring solace and serenity instead of agitation and strife. Look at these closing words found in James, chapter 3:

Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. v. 18

Here we find an incentivizing for those who would commit themselves to sow peace, those who would seek to plant seeds of calm into every person or situation they encounter. The hope of the peace sower is that those seeds of calm would take root in the hearts and minds of others so to reap a harvest of peacefulness, a peacefulness that would look completely opposite of what we see happening on college campuses across the United States recently.

Note that there is a reward for the peacemaker for through their work of sowing peace, they will “reap a harvest of righteousness”, performing actions that are favorable to the Lord and pleasing in His sight. Indeed, the Lord loves it when His people are living in peace, preferably connected to that peace through Him, the Prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6).

Indeed, Jesus Himself also had something to say about the peacemaker. For at the beginning of His renowned Sermon on the Mount, He said this within the context of what we know as the Beatitudes:

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

Here, Jesus affirms that the peacemakers who reap a harvest of righteousness will be blessed and “called children of God”. This is because the true peacemaker is in and of Christ Jesus first and with Him alive inside the believer, peace becomes a natural behavior. And because the peacemaker is a Jesus believer then they will automatically become one of God’s children. The Word of God found in Romans tells us as much:

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you.

For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Romans 8:9-16

The moment a person professes their belief in Jesus, they receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and given they are then led by the Spirit of God, they also are counted as His children. This Holy Spirit will also produce fruitfulness within the actions and attitudes of a Christian, and one of those fruits of the Spirit is...you got it...peace.

“...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

Friends, there is beauty found at the heart of every peacemaker because Jesus is working through that heart by way of the Holy Spirit. As Christian believers, let’s all remember that we are all called to peace as we intentionally sow it everywhere that our Father God leads us, His children. For when we do, He will ensure that we will be blessed.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.