Jesus said, inMatthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”
What is your idea of a peacemaker? If we broker a deal between two countries, would we be considered a peacemaker? Perhaps. But would we be considered a child of God? Not necessarily. A child of God is made in the image of God. As Christians, we are called to be peacemakers representing God as His children.
A few summers ago in 2017, I ran into an incident in the lobby of the OISE building. Two men were swearing at one another because one of them was being loud on the phone. It began to evolve into a fight where the phone guy wanted to punch the other man. I intervened and stopped both of them before it escalated.
However, both guys shouted at me and told me to not butt in. I decided to not run away and instead pray to God, asking He grant peace to them. What happened next shocked me. The other guy left without saying a word, and the phone guy approached me while I was praying. I felt his presence and I thought he would punch me while I was praying but he didn’t. Instead, he apologized for shouting at me and thanked me for stopping the fight after I finished praying. I thank God to this day that they did not end up fighting.
This Bible Study was a good reminder to me. To be a peacemaker, we need to be at peace with God first and it begins with having this total dependency on God. Our role as peacemakers will extend to others after.
Summary by Evan