Peacemaking is an art of the Spirit.
Little sisters have a tremendous ability to pester big brothers. (The opposite is true also, but we won’t talk about that). Sometimes my little sister would run by and hit me. It wasn’t a hard hit but I would have pursued her over mountains, through waterless deserts and through snake-infested jungles to get her back.
Why? Who knows?
It’s not easy to keep peace in this sensitive world.
“Seek peace and pursue it,” God’s Word commands us. You know, real peace doesn’t consist simply in the absence of conflict. If I run every time there is a battle, I’m not a peacemaker, I’m a coward. Peacemakers see the heart of a conflict and genuinely try to bring hearts back together. It’s an active thing because people will always be in conflict but the peacemaker sees the need for unity and works to bring that about.
The simple act of stopping the war isn’t peacemaking, either. That can be a simple ceasefire. But, if the causes of the conflict aren’t dealt with, real peace remains elusive and war breaks out again.
And Christians sometimes have sneaky ways of using the scripture to win their battles. “What some call “confronting in love” can be an attack just to get our way.
Peacemaking is an art of the Spirit.
Here’s some suggestions for making peace, either with another person with whom you have conflict or between other people in conflict.
–> Help them to see that this spirit of conflict and war flies in the face of the Word of God. They can never be all God dreams for them to be if they’re at war with a brother.
–>Confront the problem like adults. Agree at the onset that yelling, insulting, crying, silence and other manipulative actions are unfair. We’re looking for a solution.
–>Encourage both parties to REALLY listen and consider what the other one says. They still might not agree but there’s a tremendous force for healing released if someone believes that the other person respects them enough to listen.
–>Look for a “win-win” situation. Usually the side who loses a war isn’t very happy. If both feel their views have been respected and if the solution offers obvious justice to both sides, it’s easier to process.
–>Actively work for peace. Avoid people who seem to plant quarrels everywhere they go. If Bob has a fuss with Jill and they’re both wrong, and Bob has a fuss with Joe but they’re both wrong, and Bob has a fuss with Al but there’s right and wrong on both sides, you know what? The problem is Bob. He will have problems at work, at church and with his kids. You can bet on it.
–Work to build a relationship between the newly reconciled parties. Bonds of love in the Lord will hold them together when life tries to provoke them to battle again.
Hey, you want to be blessed? Get busy making peace.
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” Matt. 5:9
What are some ways that you’ve found effective in making peace between people who are mad at each other?