A peacemaker is one who reaches out to bring reconciliation to estranged relationships. It is a person who reaches out courageously when they may not have good results in doing so. It can happen when a counselor reaches out to a husband and wife that are headed to divorce and helps reconcile their troubled marriage.  Yet, peace may not come if the estranged spouses are not both willing to forgive and recommit to love and respect one another.

Sometimes, peacemaking is very dangerous.  Just ask any law enforcement officer about the calls they most dread. Most would say it is domestic abuse calls. The officer comes in to rescue the spouse being abused and in the process, sometimes the abused person then turns on the officer. Peacemaking is not an easy exercise. There is great risk on the part of the peacemaker. That’s why the majority of mankind decides not to get involved.

Jesus is the ultimate peacemaker in all of history.  He came to reconcile sinful man who had been estranged from a Holy God.  Yet, we have to be willing to accept His offer of reconciliation – to change our need to be reconciled to God and accept Jesus’ offer. When we do, we find peace with God. And when we have peace with God, we begin to experience a double blessing.  We begin to find peace within.  And when we begin to experience inner peace, we want to reach out and seek to be at peace with everyone, wherever it is possible.

After the assassination attempt on his life, Pope John Paul II went to the prison where the man who shot him was being held.  Imagine him offering forgiveness to a person who had tried to kill him. Rather than seeking revenge, he chose to forgive and seek to be at peace with that man.  He did this because Jesus had forgiven him of his sins and given him peace with God. When Christ forgave him, it gave him peace. He then sought to make peace with the man who tried to kill him! Amazing story. Since Jesus came to be the ultimate peacemaker between God and man, He expects us to be peacemakers. When we live like that, Jesus calls us “Sons of God.” In short, we become like Him.