Blessed are the Peacemakers

In the ninth Beatitude, Jesus declares, "Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called  sons of God."  In other words, these obedient servants  are participating in God's blessing as obedient servants of the most high.

They understand that Jesus has - and still is - extending God's gratitude for their understanding that our heavenly Father has inculcated these Friends with the command to settle disputes in God's peace, not in their personal ideology.
       That is why Christ teaches His followers to love their opponents.  We know that Jesus is communicating with them inwardly much like His communication to us.  We feel His presence within to such an extent that we realize in the power of the Lord that God has the love and power to minister to the so-called unlikable individuals.

Small wonder Jesus teaches us, if we are listening, "to turn the other cheek." Then we begin to "love our enemies" as potential friends of Jesus.  We thus make peace in God's blessing.  We may not always be successful but, more important, we are obedient to the Lord, His Friend.  This love, as Jesus admonishes, enables us to forgive our opponents, not with our own limited minds, but in Christ's spirit. Of course we need to pray for the love and power manifested in that beloved Spirit.  As a result, we receive the spiritual armament of God and become His
peacemakers.

Arthur Berk
04-02-2007