Bridging the Unbridgeable: The Art of Being a Peacemaker In A Divided World Part 1

“Sharon’s ice blue eyes are cold and piercing, not kind at all.” I stared at the words, stunned that my college friend wrote them in her journal. Doreen (name changed) asked me to meet her in her dorm room to walk to lunch together. I arrived at an empty room, but Doreen’s journal laid open on her bed. I nosed where I did not belong. The was a deep pain that instantly changed my feelings about Doreen and our friendship.

I never said a word to Doreen about what I read that day. Instead, I leaned into the betrayal I felt and began to back away from her. Our friendship eventually dissolved. Whether Doreen left the book there deliberately or not, does not let me off the hook for making zero attempts to deal with the brokenness between us.

In the decades to come, that became the first of several times I let go of relationships that became painful. God does cause people to part from one another for his good purposes, but I have learned that he wants his children to part in peace, to the best of our ability.

To make no effort towards reconciling a broken relationship, is not like Jesus. In fact, he strongly suggests we become proactive peacemakers.

True peacemakers do not avoid conflict. They wade into the middle of it. I know. Sounds dangerous. But while doing a deep study of the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7) with Dr. Tim Mackie of Bible Project, I learned more of what Jesus intended when he said, “God blesses those who work for peace,” (literal translation). The original Greek in Matthew 5:9 creates a picture of children of God motivated by his idea of reconciliation. Motivated enough to invest time and energy into bringing together divided people for dialogue and relationship restoration.

Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 do not paint a picture of a Christian who observes warring factions but does nothing. Prayer for the divided is great but Jesus’ brother James is blunt when he says that faith without action is worthless (James 2:14-26 ).

Jesus pictured his followers becoming initiative-taking peace brokers.

Why do we expect only politicians to do peacemaker work between divided nations? Jesus tried to normalize it for all his followers. I wonder if nations would be as divided as they are if more Christians answered the call to be spiritual diplomats.

Now, do not think Christ calls us to insert ourselves into every situation of brokenness we see. He does not ask us to confront every angry person who appears on our social media feeds or crosses our paths in real time. Only the Holy Spirit can lead us to people with eyes to see and ears to hear. People whose hearts are open to change. And the Holy Spirit can only use Christians as peace brokers when they are listening to him and willing to obey.

There are people who long for reconciliation with others but are currently stuck in the mud of pride, false realities, wrong thinking, or wounded hearts. So, peacemakers must first be in step with the Holy Spirit. Secondly, they must be motivated by the same inner fires that caused Christ to leave his beautiful home and do the work of reconciling God and humanity.

What sent Christ to earth and drove him to connect

with messed up people every day?

·         Obedience to his Father.

·         Love and humility.

·         Courage to enter the stormy seas of people polarized from one another and God.

·         A generosity of time, at the cost of his own needs.

·         Discernment to see beyond a person’s angry shell to the wounded heart underneath.

·         Heaven’s power to speak truth and grace, regardless of other’s tones or words.

The frayed threads of broken relationships and conflicts are all around us in our lives and the lives of others. Have you considered the idea that you might be the one God is asking to enter some of those situations?

If there are relationships in your own life that need humility, grace, and courage to reopen communication, please do the work. Before you do, Jesus recommends we deal with the beams in our own eyes before we talk to someone about the speck in theirs. It will help if we think of repentance as a lifestyle not a spiritual accessory.

Will the body of Christ sit by quietly while families, friends, churches, and our country become increasingly polarized and fractured? What is Christ asking us to do as individuals and churches?

In Part 2 I will share highlights from and links to some great articles with wisdom and practical ideas on this topic of becoming a peacemaker.