Building Peace
When Hearts Choose Peace
Posted by: CDFWarrington on Wednesday, February 12, 2025 at 6:00AM
Today We Are Learning How to Go From Peace-Keeping to Peace-Making: Love in Action!
Sacred Snapshot:
In a world where conflict often goes viral and division gets more clicks than unity, we're exploring Jesus' radical call to be peacemakers, not just peacekeepers. Today, we'll discover how love empowers us to move beyond avoiding conflict to actively building bridges of understanding. Because true peace isn't just the absence of tension - it's the presence of justice, understanding, and active love.
What's Inside:
- Understand the difference between peacekeeping and peacemaking
- Learn practical tools for transforming conflict into connection
- Discover how love empowers authentic peace-building
- Find your role in God's peace-making mission
In This Post:
- Blessed Are the Peacemakers
- Beyond Peacekeeping: The Art of Making Peace
- Practical Peace-Making in Daily Life
- Your Invitation to Peace-Making
Blessed Are the Peacemakers
When Jesus declared, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God" (Matthew 5:9), He wasn't just offering a nice sentiment. He was announcing a fundamental characteristic of God's family - we are called not just to love peace, but to make peace.
Notice the active nature of this calling. We're not called to be peace-wishers or peace-hopers, but peace-makers. This echoes God's own heart - the One who didn't just wish for peace with humanity but actively made peace through Christ.
🎵 Harmony of Faith:
Traditional: "Make Me a Channel of Your Peace"
Contemporary: "The Blessing" (Kari Jobe, Elevation Worship)
From ancient prayers set to music to modern declarations of blessing, these songs remind us that peace is both a gift we receive and a calling we live. Whether through gentle invocation or powerful proclamation, we join in declaring God's peace over our world.
Beyond Peacekeeping: The Art of Making Peace
There's a world of difference between keeping peace and making peace. Peacekeeping often means maintaining a fragile status quo or avoiding conflict at all costs. Peace-making, however, requires active engagement with differences and careful bridge-building across divides.
From Keeping to Making:
| Peacekeeping | Peace-Making |
|---|---|
| Avoiding conflict | Engaging differences |
| Maintaining status quo | Building better bridges |
| Surface calm | Deep understanding |
| Passive acceptance | Active reconciliation |
Practical Peace-Making in Daily Life
But what does peace-making look like in our everyday relationships and communities? How do we actively build peace while maintaining truth and authenticity?
Peace-Making Principles:
- Listen Deeply: Move beyond hearing words to understanding hearts
- Seek Understanding: Ask questions that build bridges rather than walls
- Speak Truth in Love: Maintain honesty while prioritizing relationship
- Create Space: Allow room for growth and perspective-sharing
Practical applications might include:
- In Families: Regular family meetings for open, honest communication
- At Church: Intentional dialogue between different ministry groups
- In Communities: Creating spaces for diverse voices to be heard
- With Neighbors: Building relationships across cultural divides
Your Invitation to Peace-Making
Today's invitation challenges us to move beyond passive peace-keeping to active peace-making. This isn't about avoiding all conflict but about transforming it into opportunities for deeper understanding and stronger relationships.
Starting Steps:
- Personal Peace: Begin with your own heart's peace with God
- Close Circles: Identify one relationship needing peace-making attention
- Community Impact: Look for ways to build bridges in your community
- Consistent Practice: Make peace-making a daily intention
Consider these reflection questions:
- Where might God be calling you to move from peace-keeping to peace-making?
- What conversation or relationship needs active peace-building?
- How could your unique gifts contribute to peace-making?
- What fears about peace-making need God's grace?
Peace-Maker's Prayer:
"Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy."
- Prayer of St. Francis
Because when hearts choose to make peace, God's love finds new paths to flow.
Want to share the love? Feel free to forward this to friends, family, or your local church community. After all, love multiplies when divided!
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Continue Your Journey in Love
Choose your path through our "United in Love" series - whether you prefer daily devotionals with your family, classroom resources, or deeper weekly reflections on Christian unity:
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