Peacemaker part 2
Peace is not just the absense of war. It is the presence of love. That's why, when we see in Matthew 5:9, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God," its important to catch that word "called." Because we ARE the Son(s) of God. That's the truth of the matter. But when we walk in our calling, when we let what's inside come out (by knowing and believing that its in there), that's when other people will know who we are. That's when other people will be able to identify us as the Son(s) of God. And remember what we were talking about yesterday, about loving someone and in that way bringing them inner peace? I don't think there's any better way to show someone God than to love them. To bring peace to a situation where there was none. To bring light to a situation where there was darkness. No greater love can a man have than to lay his life down for his friends, right? Giving someone everything you have and everything you are is my personal definition of love. But that doesn't mean you barrel in and try to bring peace through the use of force. Peace is about NOT escalating things. Turning the other cheek when someone hits you. Refusing to push someone, because you don't want them to push back, or fall down or run away. Sometimes we we want to help, but we end up trying too hard and we end up hurting. So we have to seek first to understand the situation. Because love IS the answer, but love can look different for each problem. People love differently, and people receive love differently. So what might bring peace in one situation could very well bring war to another. That's called being sensitive. That's called having wisdom. Letting a situation play out a little bit before you try to force it to be something its not. Letting people be who THEY are instead of forcing them to be who you want them to be. I've never been more frustrated in my life than when I tried to get people to do something they didn't want to do. Because at the end of the day we are who we are and we do what we want to do. And, yes, life is in large part about doing what you have to do... but we temper that with doing what we want to do as much as humanly possible. So if you're trying to make someone do what YOU want them to do, which goes against what THEY want to do... its not going to happen. They're going to push back. And that's the opposite of peace. That's the opposite of love. Love is NEVER about getting. Because love IS giving. Again, giving everything you have and everything you are. Without a thought about what comes next. You SHOULD think about how your love will be received, so you can have the right Word (which is Jesus, which is love) in season. But you can't worry about whether it will "work" or not. Because that's not up to you. You can't control how someone else will respond to your love. You just have to love them anyway. You just have to do your best and forget the rest. Be peaceful, and that peace inside WILL come out. And then people will know who you are. Even if they don't say, "He's a Son of God," maybe they'll say, "He's a really good guy." Or, "He sure does love people." And to me, that's the same thing!