Blessed are the Peacemakers

In Iran recent presidential elections ended in turmoil and the surprise outpouring of people on the streets demanding a full and open accounting to determine the true winner.  Sadly some protesters have been killed, and no one knows yet what the final outcome of the political struggle will be.

In Iraq we have seen a new surge in violence as US troops geared up to leave the major towns.  Gaza still lives with the death and destruction from the conflict there earlier this year.  Millions of Sudanese still live as refugees waiting for peace and justice to prevail before they can return home.  In Afghanistan and now Pakistan, the armed struggle against the Taliban intensifies.

Jesus himself was born into a Middle East which had its own share of conflicts.  His homeland was under Roman occupation, there were zealots (freedom fighters), political and religious rivalries and dissenters were dealt with brutally. 



So, when he called for his followers to be Peacemakers, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, he was not speaking academically.  He was speaking radical ideas into a society that was in turmoil…and not so different from that of today.



As SAT-7 channels carry programs that seek to speak prophetically into these countries, from Morocco to Afghanistan, our role is to faithfully portray the Prince of Peace, and purvey his Gospel of Peace.  At the heart of that Gospel is the peace that can be found in forgiveness and reconciliation — still the obviously missing ingredients needed in today’s Middle East.



As we watch these events, and perhaps find ourselves caught up in the midst of them, let’s remember that the greatest way we can be peacemakers is to help people come to personally know the Prince of Peace.  I Corinthians 5:17-18 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”

Yours in His Service together,