SOTM 9: Peacemakers

9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
-Mt. 5:9

"Peace" in the Jewish mindset was an all-encompassing concept referring to the way things are supposed to be. Shalom is what everything is headed for. When peace is achieved everything is at rest, everything is calm, there is a collective sigh of relief. Jesus is called the prince of peace. He is the one who has come to make things the way they are supposed to be. Spiritual, physical, psychological--all the various categories we use to evaluate the person--he has come to make right all that has gone wrong. As his children, we too are to be his agents of peace, seeking to make right what is wrong at every level. We must seek to tackle the largest and most insurmountable of problems--genocide, famine, poverty. But we must begin with you and me. Making peace means restoring all relationships. You don't have to be fighting to be at war. Each one of us may secretly be fighting cold wars on many fronts, in many relationships. Sometimes we don't even notice. Trade and diplomacy continue. There are no official embargoes. But inside our minds and maybe even behind their backs secret agents are doing their work. Sometimes covert attacks are launched, perhaps through a subtly manipulative word or cold shoulder. It isn't official, but we are at war. But the peacemaker says no. She identifies and focuses on the speck in her own eye even if the other is sporting a plank. She seeks forgiveness, and makes amends. Is there someone out there with whom you need to make peace?