The Apostle Matthew, in the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of his gospel, records that on a day early in his ministry, Jesus noticed a crowd was following him, so he went up on a mountainside and sat down so he could teach them. This time of Jesus' teaching is known as the Sermon On the Mount.

The Sermon On the Mount is a broad and comprehensive lesson on how to live a Christian life. It begins with what is known as the Beatitudes. The word beatitude is from the latin word Beatus, which means "blessed." The first 10 verses of chapter five all begin with "Blessed are..."

The Beatitudes describe the characteristics of a disciple of Christ and the rewards of discipleship - present and future. The original word for blessed in each of these beatitudes is makarios, which means "happy," "fortunate," or literally, "to be enlarged." The NIV Application Commentary for Matthew says that, “Makarios is a state of existence in relationship to God in which a person is ‘blessed’ from God’s perspective even when he or she doesn’t feel happy or isn’t presently experiencing good fortune. Negative feelings, absence of feelings, or adverse conditions cannot take away the blessedness of those who exist in relationship with God.”

In stating these characteristics, Jesus refers to a state of spiritual fulfillment, and a joy independent of feelings, deep in the soul that comes from a disciple's embodiment of that characteristic.

Our scripture today is the seventh beatitude - being a peacemaker.

What is a peacemaker?

I think we must first understand the peace Jesus calls a disciple to make. The night before Jesus died, he told his apostles about that peace. In chapter 14 of John's gospel, verse 27, Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives." The peace that Jesus left is not the absence of conflict or strife. It is the presence of God. It is Shalom - complete and permanent serenity provided only by God. It is the peace that God made with us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Being a peacemaker means sharing that active peace with others. It means reconciling others to ourselves the same way God reconciled us to Himself. It means actively working to repair broken relationships via the peace of God. It means basing our relationships on God's peace, even with our enemies.

What our world describes as peace is the absence of conflict. That peace is not real peace because it is often fleeting and temporary. The only real peace is God's peace; the peace that Paul, in his letter to the Phillipians said, "surpasses all understanding."

May we all become disciples that make that peace, and may we thus feel a deep sense of happiness and blessing as we become sons of God.

Father, thank you for the gift of peace. Thank you for the peace you give - the peace that allows us to become your children. Make us mindful that we are to be peacemakers - disciples that share your peace with the world. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Cliff McCartney.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

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