Provocateurs vs. Peacemakers

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” – Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:9)

The above sentence is one of the verses we can refer to if we want to understand one of the characteristics of God’s children. From a Christian perspective, we are all lost children, unable not only to find God (after all, we are the ones who are lost, not God!) but also unable to find ourselves.

In our lostness, we often seek identity and meaning by trying to climb ladders of power, social status, wealth, recognition, and many other ladders. In a fallen world, people habitually treat other people as rungs on those ladders, as stepping stones they trample on to reach or maintain their position at the top.

But what is found up there, anyway?

Often, the answer is chilling: loneliness, isolation, counterfeit relationships (because almost everyone who wants a relationship with someone above them has an ulterior motive). In short, what remains is perhaps only a sense of emptiness and nothingness.

Some people, sadly sometimes even within religious circles, delight in stirring up strife where none exists. They manipulate, divide, and incite, all in the hope of gaining some advantage or control.

As religious people, we must be spiritually alert against this destructive work of the devil. None of us is immune to the enemy’s schemes, which is why we must remain vigilant and deeply dependent on God.

Jesus said that the children of God are characterized by bringing peace, even bringing it in the midst of conflict. Not only will such people not celebrate or escalate conflict, but they will be present to be sacrifices to bring this divine peace.

Jesus was such a man; he did not merely speak about peace; he embodied it. He brought reconciliation between the Holy God and sinful humanity like us through the greatest act of peacemaking: his own sacrificial death on the cross.

True peace is costly. It demands humility, courage, and a willingness to lay down our own rights for the sake of others. In contrast, provocation is cheap and trashy!

So, perhaps the question we should ask is this: Do we know Jesus, the ultimate Peacemaker? If we truly know him, we will be marked by the same spirit: seeking to bring peace wherever there is conflict or division. May God transform us daily into peacemakers who reflect his heart to a broken and divided world.