Christian Living

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

Peacemakers are not peace at any price people but rather people who are determined to rebuild a relationship that has been damaged. Joseph in the Old Testament is a good example of this.

His brothers had left him for dead and yet years later when Joseph had the opportunity to punish his brothers, he not only didn’t do it, but instead he pursued a relationship with them. This was not an easy thing for Joseph to do and three times we find him weeping as he works through the process of restoring the relationship.

Peacemaking doesn’t ignore the offence, Joseph said quite bluntly to his brothers, “You intended to harm me” but he then goes on with the divine perspective, “but God intended it for good”(Genesis 50:20). It would have been so easy for Joseph to ignore his brothers when they visited Egypt since they did not recognise him. But Joseph deliberately set out to restore his relationship with all his brothers.

Peacemaking takes time and often doesn’t come naturally. Joseph was not born a peacemaker. As a young boy he was quite the opposite but in the 30 years that Joseph spent in Egypt he learnt a lot and even then he had to wait for an opportunity.

Peacemaking is hard work yet God has promised to bless the person who is determine to have no broken relationships, not with God and not with other people.

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