Strange Kingdom by Ken Costa

Author:Ken Costa
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2018-02-02T05:00:00+00:00

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

It is in light of this that we, as followers of Jesus, are called to be agents of reconciliation and bringers of peace in every area of our lives. Indeed, Jesus said, in his penultimate beatitude in Matthew’s Gospel, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matt. 5:9). We are shown to be children of God, who are maturing in our friendship with God, if we are peacemakers. It is the mark of our faith.

To be a peacemaker means to have grace-healed eyes that see the potential in others to receive the same grace that God has so lavishly bestowed on us. All those who want to be messengers of reconciliation must be ready to abandon the “cause-and-effect program” instituted by the world and to embrace freely God’s “grace program.” When we do so, we become Christ’s ambassadors in a world filled with people who need the grace that God freely offers. Being reconciled to God, and showing others the way to a right relationship with their Maker, is not about what we do but about what God has done through Christ.

It is important to note that being a peacemaker does not mean avoiding or appeasing. We are not called to ignore things, nor are we to avoid causing problems so that we can get along with one another. Jesus never ran from a legitimate conflict, but rather he knew how to deal with it head-on, resolve it, and restore the relationship. This is a world rife with conflict: between nations and within nations, between generations, races, religions, political parties, the sexes. It is a world of struggle and misunderstanding between cultures, between rich and poor, educated and uneducated. We desperately need peacemakers in our world, and we need to be peacemakers in our own lives.

It is for this reason that I am motivated by my work as the chairman of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Reconciling Leaders Network, which is designed to train and teach leaders in reconciliation—how to build bridges amid dividing opinions and what can oftentimes be hostile environments to lead in. On a far larger scale, this is what we see Desmond Tutu, the anti-apartheid and human rights activist in South Africa, accomplishing in his own lifetime and ministry. When I had the privilege of meeting him, he struck me as one of the great leaders of our time—a man who has made relational reconciliation his priority, with his whole focus on bringing people together in a world that is both hostile and dangerous.

It is the death of Jesus that provides us with the opportunity and the ability to be peacemakers. The message of the cross was never meant to be some exclusive, insider deal for private Christian consumption. No, the message of the cross was to be a signpost showing everybody the way to this extraordinary friendship. Regardless of gender, race, and nationality, the cross of Jesus is a message of hope for all who accept and put their faith in him.

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