Listen

“Happy are people who make peace, because they will be called God’s children.”

Matthew 5:9

Think

So often, we think of peace as something that happens to us. But Jesus invites us into a way of living where peace is something we make happen.

The problem with being a peacemaker is that you can only make peace where there is none. Peacemakers inhabit places of conflict, places where violence is the norm, places that are characterized by discomfort and disturbance.

Far too often, we think of peace as the absence of conflict, but we forget that peacemaking happens within the very context of conflict. Seeking the peace of God doesn’t mean avoiding conflict, but engaging with it redemptively. Teaching lions to lie down next to lambs. Turning swords into gardening tools. Transforming bullies into best friends.

Such a peace will never happen by accident, but by those who commit to the long, hard work of making it happen.

Dave McNeely

Pray

God of Peace, thank you for making peace with me.

Just as you have made peace with me, help me to make peace with those around me.

Help me to move from being a peace-haver to a peace-maker.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

Go

May God meet you in the margins
And find you in the cracks.
May God bless you in the wanting
And in everything you lack.
May God fill the empty spaces
And become your all in all.
May God lead you to the places
Where you’re the answer to God’s call.