God of truth, allow this dear reader to speak Your truth in whatever situations they may find themselves today; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
If you grew up with a sibling, you probably needed the presence of the UN Peace Keeping forces, right? No matter how much you loved each other, you did not always agree on things nor did you "play well." I lived it. I saw my daughters live it. Now, Nelie and I are seeing our grandchildren live it. The two oldest live close enough that our granddaughter, Sarita, calls her cousin Liam, "my brother," and it's good and bad. Whenever they've been in nursery during church, reports come back that if someone takes a toy away from Sarita, it is Liam who will march after the offender, remove the toy and return it back to his "sister." Then there are those times when Liam is the offender or even Sarita is the offender. And I won't get into domestic "discussions." Peace, as we discussed sometime ago, is not simply the absence of conflict. Peace is the desire for a presence of complete wellbeing with someone else. To say to someone, "peace" is to bless their lives with that desire.
Jesus meant that we should be those types of people, wishing and working for each other's wellbeing. My favorite verse from John, is, besides 3:16, John 10:10 where Jesus explains His purpose, "I have come that you may have life and that in abundance." That is peace. And God blesses those who work and wish for that by giving them an influence that some would say is Godlike and thus our being known as the children of God. That is our text for today: 9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Think about your options for today in all situations, and then choose the one that will bless you as a child of God and bless the others as those for whom you wish complete wellbeing.
PRAYER: God of peace, let me be known as one who desires the complete wellbeing of others. May I wish and work for the ones who lack peace, so that they may be blessed. I ask this in the powerful name of Jesus my Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
