Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.”
Jesus, in Matthew 5:9
“If it be possible, as far as your part is concerned, live in peace with all men.”
Paul, in Romans 12:18
You will never be able to live in peace with some people. They don’t want it. Jesus, the Prince of peace, was not able to live in peace with some people. They were implacable in their hatred of him. How can we ever be “peacemakers”, then, and be called the sons of God, if we cannot make certain people be at peace with us? The answer is, we can’t. Trying to make people who are under the influence of a wrong spirit be at peace with us is a foolish waste of time. Whenever a righteous person tries in the flesh to appease a bad spirit, it brings about confusion and regret. That is not making peace; that is simply surrendering to the will of an ungodly spirit. I cannot tell you how many times over the years I have heard husbands of self-willed wives, or wives of oppressive husbands, tell me that the reason they gave in to their spouse’s will and did the wrong thing is that they were just trying to “keep the peace”. But when you are dealing with a self-willed person, there is no peace to keep. It is either their way or it is war.
Jesus did not tell us to “keep the peace”. Jesus himself was not a peace keeper. He came to earth to bring division between those who wanted peace and those who wanted their own will to be done. “Do you suppose”, he said, “that I am come to give peace on earth? No! But rather division” (Lk. 12:51) Jesus brought peace to every soul who truly wants the peace of God’s will done in his life, but for the self-willed, Jesus brought that thing that makes them most exposed and angry: the light of God.
Being what Jesus called a “peace maker” is doing nothing more than enforcing peace in your area of control. For a parent, it means simply that you run your own house instead of your children. For a husband, it means that you are the head of your house, according to the will of God. For every child of God, it means that no unclean spirit is allowed to dictate the agenda within the borders of your soul or of your property. If you desire to be called a son of God, then in those areas of life that God has entrusted to you, you enforce God’s peace. You have the right to do so; you have the power to do so; and you have the obligation to do so. You will be called anything but a peacemaker by the ungodly spirits that are no longer allowed to operate freely in your area of control, but do not let that deter you. God will call you His child, and that is your goal.
Be a peacemaker in that area of life over which God has given you authority. Chase away the spirits of strife and self-will that oppose you in those areas. And do not waste your life trying to “keep the peace” with a rebellious, self-willed spirit. If you are at peace with such a spirit, it is not because you have done well; it can only be that you have submitted to evil and pacified an evil spirit. And just how long do you think such a “peace” will last, no matter how much you strive to appease it?