In our last blog, we saw that Jesus is known as “The Prince of Peace” because He is the only one who can forgive sin and bring us into a relationship with God, making it possible for us to have peace with Him. This is the most important aspect of peace simply because it carries with it eternal consequences. If you don’t have “Peace with God through Jesus Christ,” you need to. It’s the only way to have eternal life. Just ask Him to give it to you. 

We also saw that peace between alienated groups is now possible through Christ, and that internal peace is also important for each one of us to have. I can’t imagine going through life with a spirit that is constantly in a state of turmoil and agitation. Jesus wants to give us “His Peace,” and it is available to each one of us. It comes from a Person and is not found through a series of humanly manufactured steps, nor is it something we can earn. It has to be given to us. 

God loves it when peace reigns in the hearts of individuals as well as between individuals. The Bible says, “As much as it depends on you, be at peace with all men” (Rom. 12:18), and it exhorts us to “Live in peace with one another” (I Thes. 5:13). Furthermore, the Apostle Paul call us to “Be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3).

But Jesus also called each of His followers to be “Peace-Makers,” not just “peace-lovers” or even “peace-keepers.” The implication is that Jesus wants us to be aware of human conflicts and then find ways to mediate those conflicts. Jesus wants us to “pursue” peace, and I don’t believe that this is for just our own need for “conflict resolution,” but for the resolution of conflicts between others. Finding peace between people is a common theme in the New Testament. Consider the following passages of Scripture: “Pursue the things that make for peace” (Rom. 14:19); “Pursue peace with all men” (Heb. 12:14); and “Seek peace and pursue it” (1 Pet. 3:11).

I believe that it is the ministry of every Christian to be a “peacemaker,” just as Jesus said. It is what some call, The Ministry of Reconciliation,” that is, doing what we can to reconcile two parties in conflict. But why did the Apostle Paul call every believer to take up the mantle of this ministry? 

Here is what Paul said, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, and the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:17-18). It is because God has “reconciled” us to Himself through Christ, and because of that reconciliation, we are now “new creations.” And because we are “new creations,” He has committed to us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:19). 

But that’s not all. Because we are now His ambassadors, “…we are called on assignment to make every attempt to reconcile people to God” (2 Cor. 5:20), and as an extension of that ministry, to try and reconcile people to one another as well. An ambassador is one who represents and speaks for a dignitary, and that is just what we are doing for the King of kings. His mission on earth is to reconcile people to God through Christ, and as an extension, to reconcile people to one another. 

I believe this is why Jesus identified peacemakers as “…sons (and daughters) of God” (Mt. 5:9) This is what it means to be one of His children. This is His calling on all those who claim Christ as their Lord and Savior. Let’s fulfill our calling, and be His Ambassadors, representing Him as instruments of His peace. If we do, just as Jesus said, you will be “uncommonly blessed.”