Bringing Peace in Conflict
How do you respond to conflict? For the majority of us, conflict is not fun, so we avoid it, which is not ideal. For others, they like to stir the pot and create further chaos, which is also not ideal. If we can’t avoid conflict, what are we supposed to do when we are faced with it? Well, according to Jesus in the sermon the mount, we are supposed to bring about peace in the midst of conflict.
If we are going to bring peace in conflict, we have to answer a very important question: what is peace? Generally we think of peace as the absence of conflict, but for the people in Jesus day, this is not exactly right. For the first-century audience, peace represents “everything which makes for a person’s highest good.” It is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of harmony. This is what Jesus is saying Christians are supposed to participate in. Jesus calls us to be peacemakers, which is not avoiding conflict, but rather entering into it. Tim Mackie says that peacemaking is “Entering into conflicts and working creatively to open up a just and generous path forward for others.”
I’m writing about this because it is fresh on my mind. This past week, I had the privilege to speak at a church about the last 3 beatitudes, addressing what it meant to be a peacemaker and persecuted. In this message, I said that when we enter arenas of conflict, we invest in the new creation reality of the Kingdom of God. When we live out the reality of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12), we are living as light in our world, and we are investing in what Jesus is bringing to earth.*
In this message, I discussed how we, in 2025, can create peace in the face of conflict and division. I believe that the way we are to be peacemakers, and invest in new creation, is to be people who actively seek reconciliation, justice, and the well-being of others in a way that reflects Christlike humility and love. We are to welcome conversation, sincerely listen, and empathetically respond. For each of us this looks different, but if you are a Christian, this is what is expected of all of us. So ask yourself what arenas of conflict you can enter?
As you engage conflict, how will you leverage your influence and platform to promote peace? How will you speak out for the marginalized, the oppressed, and the hurting? How will you seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God?
This seems overwhelming and hard because it is. Just remember, Jesus isn’t calling us to be perfect and solve all of the conflict in our world, but he is inviting us into the day-to-day work of peacemaking as we use our platform and influence to promote peace. We are all equipped to do this work, so let’s go bring about the peace of God.
Thanks for reading. I appreciate you.
Philip
*You can check out the video from that message on my Youtube channel or on my sermons page.