The courage to carry peace

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the United States of America has quickly become the Divided States of America.

The last few election cycles have deepened that divide, and the gap widens as people scramble to the safety of echo chambers and friendly voices.

At times, it can feel as if we’re playing a giant game of Tug of War, and the result will be that no one wins while everyone gets worn out. And tired people don’t, won’t, or can’t invest the emotional energy necessary to repair the relational fractures in their lives.

Enter the courageous ones, or as Jesus called them, the peacemakers.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭9, emphasis mine)

It may seem odd to think of peacemakers as courageous, but that’s only because we’ve always considered peace to be something passive.

The absence of conflict. The absence of struggle. The absence of persecution, unexpected bills, or relational stress. But friend, if peace is only found in the absence of bad things, then why would God have promised us peace that “passes all understanding” in Philippians 4:7? And why would that peace need to guard our hearts and minds if they weren’t under attack?

Cowards keep peace at all costs, but courageous ones make peace despite the cost. Israel’s army was full of peacekeepers when they were faced with Goliath, and they were content to stay stuck in order to keep a peace that wasn’t real. Sure, the never fought during the day, but I can imagine countless nights sleeping with one eye open, startled at every sound, wondering if the enemy was coming.

But David carried peace into that situation. He came with the confidence of one who had seen God’s deliverance before, and knew that God could — and would — do it again. He ran to the battle line because he didn’t have to fight for a peace he already had.

We can, too. We can run to the battle lines that culture is drawing, and carry the peace of heaven into the storms on earth. It’s what Jesus demonstrated when he slept through a storm that terrified his disciples. I’m not implying that peacemakers are lazy, but I am saying that they don’t feel an internal need to react to every external shift.

Peacekeepers panic when the winds blow because they don’t want anything to upset the delicate faux peace they’re trying to maintain. But peacemakers know no panic. Like Jesus, they can rest in the storm because the storm is no longer in them.

There has never been a time when we’ve needed the peacemakers more than this moment. You’re alive now, and if you are a follower of Jesus, your mandate is to be a carrier of peace. Like David, it’s time to take a deep breath, carry peace into the storm, and calm the storm by slaying the giant.

Photo by JOHN TOWNER on Unsplash

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