"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."

                            -Matthew 5:9 

All you have to do is turn on the news and you'll soon realize that peace is not abounding in this world by any means. Violence runs rampant at both a national and local level, and even homes are being torn apart because of society's inability to simply get along. The saddest part of it all is that this spirit of strife and discord has even found its way into the church itself! How foolish we must look to the world as we claim to worship Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), while arguing and backbiting over things that are often insignificant!

As Matthew Henry wrote, "The peace-makers are happy. They love, and desire, and delight in peace; and study to be quiet. They keep the peace that it be not broken, and recover it when it is broken. If the peace-makers are blessed, woe to the peace-breakers!"* Did you see it? If being a peace-maker brings God's blessing, then surely being a peace-breaker will provoke His wrath! In fact, in the book of Proverbs, we find that "he that soweth discord among brethren" (6:16-19) is an abomination in the sight of God.

In order to be a peace-maker on a larger scale, we must first make peace with those we are close with. Is there somebody in your family, your church, or even in your neighborhood that you need to make peace with? If so, don't delay in doing so today! As Christ said, the peace-makers "shall be called the children of God." If you want to be a witness for Christ, being a peace-maker is one of the best ways to let people about the change He has made in your life.

"If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."

                            -Romans 12:18

* Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary