“God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5:9, NLT).
If I’m not a peacemaker, I am not a child of God. God may have created me and given me the opportunity to be part of his family, but if I support war mongers and violent offenders, I cannot identify with what God is doing in the world, and actually work to counter it.
Dr. Eran Halperin Ph.D. with Psychology Today says, “We often use the word ‘peace’ as if the concept is self-explanatory. When we see the famous peace sign or hear Lennon, Yoko, and millions around the world chanting "give peace a chance," we seem to think that we all agree what peace is about. People simply assume that the abstract notion of peace, stripped from all practical considerations, is obvious.”
“Of course, everybody also knows that when parties to a conflict negotiate an agreement, they disagree on almost everything, from the way the process should look like, to the wording and arrangements of the peace accord. Still, the parties, as well as observers, seem to take it for granted that the idea of peace is universal and self-evident.” *
God is all about forging peace and reconciliation.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:17-19, NLT).
People who engage in battle typically want to other-throw or dominate the other side. They're not interested in reconciliation. They want to win! But according to our text, they are not blessed by God if they by-passed peace.
I’ve heard stories about siblings or other family members who haven’t spoken to each other for many years. They may live in the same town, or even the same house, but something happened to create hard feelings, and they haven’t been able to swallow their pride to bridge the gap.
Peace doesn't mean the same thing to every person or nation because some believe the best way to keep peace is to be armed to the teeth with weapons. Theadore Roosevelt's peace-making strategy was to “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Politicians often promote this idea to bolster their “strong man” image. It's like saying, we'll be nice, but we'll clobber you if you don't do things our way.
Unfortunately as long as we are in this world there will be people who need to be restrained and kept from harming other people. And there is a place for this in God's order of things and people. But I'm talking about a different kind of peace than peace from human violence.
Bethlehem's Peace
Adam and Eve's choice to distrust God about the tree set humanity on a collision course with heaven. Because of the high value God puts on relational trust and trustworthiness, it was a huge lesson for our first parents to learn. Inherently, we don't want to trust anyone but ourselves. We are at war with heaven's values and in sync with the principles of darkness (which promotes an every-man-for-himself way of living). When Jesus came as an infant to Bethlehem's manger, it was heaven's way of declaring war on the devil's ideology that was subjugating men and women to involuntary slavery to themselves.
When the angel's appeared over Bethlehem declaring, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased," (Luke 2:14, NLT), it was heaven's announcement that through Christ, God would offer peace to those who wanted to be free from the slavery of sin. Anyone who wanted to be free from the debilitating bondage of selfishness could be free, but to everyone else God and Jesus would be viewed as a hostile force.
In this war, the devil's weapons of choice include, lies, violence, deception, seduction, and blackmail, to name a few. Anything goes with the devil, and he will use every means he can find to achieve his goals. He has no morals or values to hold him back.
God only has one weapon—the gift of love. But in the long run it's more powerful than any weapon the devil can use.
“There is no religion better than love, no color better than the color of happiness and no language better than the language of compassion.” ― Abhijit Naskar
Paul remind us that, “We are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12, NLT).
So, when we say, “Give Peace a Chance,” we're really saying, give God a chance. Give him the chance to win your heart with love.
There was song in the 70's that followed the melody of “This Little Light of Mine” that had several verses that focused on love, joy, and peace. The subject at hand reminds me of the joy that can be ours when we are at peace with God.
This peace that I have the world didn't give it to me
This peace that I have the world didn't give to me,
Oh, oh, oh this peace that I have, the world didn't give it to me
The world didn't give it and the world can't take it away
Rich DuBose writes from Northern California | PDF copy of Give Peace a Chance
On the web at: richdubose.com. All Rights Reserved © 2025. Join me on Blue Sky @spiritrenew.bsky.social.
* By Oded Adomi Leshem, Ph.D and Dr. Eran Halperin Ph.D., Psychology Today, August 3, 2020, What Do We Talk About When We Talk About Peace?
Scripture taken from The VoiceTM. Copyright © 2012 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.