More on peacemakers

In the midst of my thinking and meditating on the beatitudes,  the Lord has been reminding me how desperately we need peacemakers in the Church. Yes between denominations, but not only there. As our society gets further and further away from our Judaeo-Christian roots we are becoming less and less mature, both in the world and in the Church. It's all about me, my desires, my hurts, my rights, about how you have treated me with less than respect and honesty and integrity. As I write this, this morning the Lord reminded me how much I conformed to this in my own life and relationships, so I am not coming at this from a position of self-righteousness. In many things we all fail, many, all, me (James 3:2)!

I was reminded yesterday how often the world can be ahead of the church in reconciliation (though I believe God is always behind it). But the World is also ahead many times, in what it calls conflict resolution. I have observed that whatever works in secular psychology, always has Biblical warrant. In other words whatever principle lies behind these things, for example secular conflict resolution, it was already there, at least two thousand years ago, in the the Bible. The one that stood out to me this morning as I Googled “conflict resolution,” was the last resort point “Disciplining or terminating employees who resist efforts to defuse conflicts.” In particular there is a passage in Matthew 18:15-17 that instructs the Church how to resolve conflicts, and then, again as a last resort,  if all else fails and  “he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you like a tax collector” (verse 17).

The principles of secular conflict avoidance, discussion of what is involved, the how and the when and what of it all, are not all found in one place in the Bible, but they are all there. The who and the  how of approaching these things is clearly seen, for example, in Galatians 6:1 where the restoration should come through “you who are spiritual,” and “in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” In other words those who would be peacemakers should among other things be meek, poor in spirit and pure in heart! Whose responsibility it is is also found in more than one place. It is the responsibility of the one offended (Matthew 18:15). It is the responsibility of the one who caused the offence (Matthew 5:23, 24). It is the responsibility of those who are spiritual to work with those overtaken by a fault (Galatians 6:1).

Father, I come to You this morning asking that You would raise up peacemakers both inside and outside the church. I heard a talk this weekend Father that spoke of this decade as the decade of Bridge building. If ever there was a need of bridge building and bridge builders it is now,  in this polarized generation. Thank You for the verse that stood out to me this morning “The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne” (Psalm 11:4). We need Your help Lord, You are in control, and You have been waiting, I believe,  for us to get on board with Your agenda rather than our own. We have messed up Father, but we are here this morning asking for forgiveness cleansing and re-commissioning. We pray to You the Lord of the harvest to thrust our labourers into the harvest in Jesus Name Amen