What's in a Name?

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9

If you are a peacemaker and a Christian, you cannot call yourself a conservative. And if you are a peacemaker and a Christian, you cannot call yourself a liberal. If we are to follow Christ and be his disciples, we must drop these labels and love one another. That’s His message.

Jesus also said, “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” As long as we continue to call each other names and elevate ourselves by our own labels, we continue to pridefully defile ourselves, hate each other, put ourselves before God, love ourselves first, put our wills first, and take judgment out of God’s hand and into our own.

This includes, by the way, taking sides in any conflict we think we know everything about, even Israel and Palestine. Do you forget that there were Christians living in Israel at the time Jesus walked on that soil – and are still living there today? Do you forget that the people of Palestine were Christians, and that Christians, Jews and Muslims lived together in peace before the United States ever got involved? Do you forget that it is not Muslims who are encroaching on Christian land, but Israelis? Do you forget that the new covenant Christ brought to us was to love your neighbor and your enemies and to bring all nations to himself?

And if you didn’t vote for our current President, are you praying for him? If you disagree with the majority in Congress, have you been praying for wise decision-making and hands that reach across party lines to honor commitments to God and to the people they serve? Have you prayed for an end to lobbying and favoritism on both sides of the Senate and House, and a productive term that accomplishes the best of God’s will for our country?

Whether our enemies are across the sea or across the aisle, a church member who disagrees with our stance, our neighbor across the street or a disagreeable family member, we are to act in love, and in so much as it depends on us, we are to live in peace with everyone. (Romans 12:18).

Why have we as Christian chosen to become increasingly difficult as models to those of the world? We act just like everyone else, and still expect others to see our humanity, our faith, our love, our patience, our self-control, our generosity of spirit, when our hearts don’t abide in love. For if our hearts had love, we would certainly bear the fruit of that love in our actions. Jesus said that the world would know we were his disciples by our love for one another. It’s no wonder they don’t know us; it’s sadder still they don’t know Him through us.

And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. James 3:18