Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
– Matthew 5:9
This has come to be my favorite of the Beatitudes. I’m not sure why. It’s not that I think it is better than or more important than the other blessings. For whatever reason, it resonates within me. As with the other beatitudes, Jesus makes a declaration about a certain group of people who stand in the favor of God. In this case, it is those who work for peace. The nature of the blessing upon these people has to do with how they are known: as children of God.
I have often said that we use the term “children of God” far too loosely. Unpacking that claim is work for another time. Let me say here that when we encounter the term in scripture it carries a meaning with greater specificity than just as a reference to all human beings. In this beatitude, “children of God” indicates resemblance to the Heavenly Father. In our human experience of family resemblances, we might notice how a child bears certain facial or body features that are seen in a parent. It could also be that the child has behavioral characteristics that mirror a parent. Whatever the case, the point is that the child resembles the parent in some obvious manner. As peacemakers, these people demonstrate a family resemblance.
How, then, does someone come to be called a son or daughter of God? What Jesus has in mind here is that the person strives for peace. Not just any peace, but the shalom of God’s reign. We are reminded that shalom is a concept that comes from Jesus’ own people, the Hebrews. Explaining it in detail would take more space than allowed here. In short, shalom describes God’s perfect kingdom. It is far more than the absence of conflict. It is life in its fullness, life as God intended for us before sin fractured our world. Peace, i.e. shalom, is not life how WE think it should be, but life as GOD knows it should be.
To that end, being a peacemaker for the Kingdom does not mean passively acquiescing to all things just for the sake of avoiding conflict. Those who strive for the Kingdom cannot be in harmony with things that stand in conflict with the Kingdom. Peacemaking is more than simply getting people to get along with each other. It is getting people to be in unity with each other as they are in unity with God’s sovereign reign. After all, the ultimate peace is found when we are reconciled with God. Only then can our relationships with each other attain their ultimate state.
Blessed are those who strive for shalom, for they are working hand in hand with their Heavenly Father.
See you along the Winding Path.
The Winding Path 