Title: Peacemaker
The peace of ignorance can be compared to terminal cancer. Usually, when cancer develops and becomes painful enough, it is already difficult to treat. It is also said that the cancer had already developed long before the pain was felt. Nevertheless, the cancer patient would have been at peace until he felt the pain. It is because you are unaware that the peace has already been broken. He is at peace for a while because he is ignorant of the fact that he has cancer. But that's not really peace. It is such a dangerous thing to think that there is peace when there is no peace. It's like someone you don't know even if you have cancer. His peace has already been broken and will soon be seriously broken.
Unbelievers are in danger of not knowing that their peace has been broken like this. They are ignorant of God's severe judgment. In John 3:18, it is said that those who do not believe in Jesus, the only begotten Son, “have already been judged”, but they live without realizing it at all. They have no sense of the fact that the wrath of God already rests upon them. Just like Pharaoh in the book of Exodus, we are completely ignorant of the fact that living ignoring God's warnings and not believing in God itself is evidence of judgment. He already has peace, but because he is ignorant of this fact, he is living in the illusion that he is at peace. There is nothing more dangerous than knowing that a problem has escalated and that you are at peace despite the seriousness of it. This is because, if diagnosed early, treatment and true peace can be enjoyed, but they only know how to be peaceful, and then they perish. What these facts indicate is that true peace can and can be maintained only on the basis of correct knowledge of the truth. Therefore, to enjoy true peace, we must listen to the Bible, the word of truth.
God created man so that he could enjoy peace with God, but that peace was broken through man's transgression. Humans can no longer stand before God with a free heart. When we could not enjoy peace in a vertical relationship with God, we could not enjoy peace in a horizontal relationship with other humans as well. The relationship between Adam and Eve, who confessed that they were bone of bone and flesh of flesh, turned into a relationship where they avoided responsibility and resented each other. The relationship with nature has also been distorted. Because of man, the earth was cursed and all kinds of evil things appeared. Shame and fear have arisen, and disease and suffering have come. As such, human beings have broken their peaceable relationship with God, and as a result, they cannot enjoy peace in all their relationships. Worse still, sin-polluted and corrupted human beings themselves were powerless to restore the relationship of peace.
But the gospel was proclaimed. The gracious God sent Jesus Christ to restore the broken peace. God gave His only begotten Son Jesus on the cross as a propitiation sacrifice. He made it possible for sinners to be justified through His blood and to come to God's throne with boldness again, and everyone who believes in Jesus Christ can enjoy peace with God again. Anyone who believes in the atonement of Jesus Christ can restore peace with God. The Bible clearly declares this fact. “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).
Now look at verse 9. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” Jesus did not say that those who love peace are blessed. He did not even say that those who enjoy peace are blessed. He said that those who make peace, that is, those who make peace, are blessed. It means that the peace maker is blessed. God has given us the office of reconciliation, and those who fulfill this office well are blessed. The peacemaker will be called the Son of God.
Originally, the work of peacemaking had to do with the work of the Messiah. The coming of the Messiah, the Son of God, was prophesied as the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6-7) and His reign was foretold to proclaim salvation and peace (Isa 52:7). Therefore, in order to perform well in the office of peacemaker, we must make sure that Jesus is revealed throughout his life. Because, fundamentally, peace is not something I can bring, but it comes from the fulfillment of the cross. We only communicate the peace made on the cross through our words and our lives. The preaching of the gospel is the most important thing in peacemaking, but our lives are important to the peacemaking in every way. This is because peace cannot be achieved only with words such as ‘make it hot’, ‘make it full’, and ‘live in peace’.
When I was preparing the sermon on ‘peace’, I felt deeply frustrated. It was because I had experienced a grievous failure in my own peacemaking. If there was one thing I learned from that failure, it was the fact that, like Jesus, you must completely deny yourself and take up your cross if you want to successfully take on the office of peace. If you try to do things that bring peace without thorough self-denial and self-sacrifice, you will not become a peace maker, but an unwanted trouble maker. It started with the intention of making peace, but the result was disputed. If you want to live the truth, you will fight, and if you want to build peace, you will have to compromise with the truth. Looking back now, the reason was that I had not thoroughly imitated the way of Jesus.
Jesus emptied himself thoroughly in his ministry of peace. Although he never compromised on the truth, he did not resist insults, ridicule, and contempt toward him, but rather prayed for forgiveness. Jesus showed mercy without turning away from the truth, and showed love without ignoring justice. He boldly asserted the truth, but did not make a fuss. This is because the life of Jesus was always in perfect peace with God. It is also because he did not claim any self, and only thought about the glory of God. I thought about the glory of God, but I failed because I did not completely deny myself, but instead insisted on it.
Anyone who has been injured will know that the wounded area becomes extremely sensitive. Even people with deep wounds are very sensitive to themselves. When you open your mouth, words that are sensitive to self-defense, words to strike back, words to complain about unfair and frustrating feelings, and words to assert your legitimate rights naturally flow out. Just as a person with a bad stomach can smell an unsavory smell when he opens his mouth, so a person with a bad stomach doesn't smell the fragrance of Christ when he opens his mouth. It continues to emit a wounded odor until it heals. By telling each other about your wounds, you unwillingly become a trouble maker. I am in no way saying this to condemn the faults displayed by the wounded. In order to take on the office of peacemaker, you must deny yourself and be insensitive to your cross.
While studying Westminster in Yanbian, God allowed me to see that there was still an unhealed wound in me. He was still sensitive about himself, so he made me see that he defends himself whenever given the opportunity, complains about his injustice, and tries to assert himself. He made me realize that my deep heart, the center hidden in the 10th basement floor, is not enjoying deep peace with God. How can I properly fulfill the office of peacemaking unless I myself am at peace with the Lord?
A person who is not free from a sense of loss and loss repeats what he said when he drinks alcohol, even though he cannot speak normally. In this way, as long as the environment is set up in which even people who have not been healed of their wounds can speak, the wounded things come out of their mouths. That causes other problems. The reason such phenomena occur is that his deep heart is not at peace with Christ.
Yesterday I saw an unusual piece of art. It was a pile of garbage on the stage. There were toilet papers, brooms, and lights shining on piles of all sorts of messy garbage. However, looking at the shadow of the garbage heap, the scene was created with two lovers facing each other, drinking wine in an atmosphere. I don't know exactly what the artist who made the work was trying to say. However, there is one thing that I thought of while looking at the work.
Sometimes our reflection may be that of a beautiful believer, but our deepest true self is that we should live thinking whether we are a pile of garbage. If filth is piled up in me, even if it looks beautiful to others, it will not actually show the fragrance of Christ. Rather than living as a peace maker, you will live as a trouble maker. I pray that God will grant us grace so that we may enjoy peace with God, and give us the strength to carry out our peacemaking duties as those who enjoy peace. ♥
(Rev. Donggyu Choi)