Prophet’s Reading Plan: Isaiah 26-28
And the fruit of the
Spirit is… peace…
Matthew 5:9 (ESV) Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall
be called sons of God.
In order to be a peacemaker (one who helps to reconcile
disagreeing parties), we must have dealt with our own insecurities to a degree.
We cannot be threatened by our friends’ other friendships. Many Christians are
quick to pounce when they see a relationship between friends go awry. We love
to be the confidant – the one who person A comes to for comfort when person B says
something offensive. But we get ourselves in a real pickle when we become
person B’s confidant as well. Suddenly we’re doing everything possible to keep
A & B apart because when they do finally come together and talk through the
silliness of their spat, they will see that we have been playing both sides of
the field and suddenly we become the deserted party!
Apparently the role of peacemaker is an important one to
Jesus. These are the people who will be known as God’s kids. Why? Because they
are like Him. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore,
since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Without Jesus, God’s
wrath would remain upon us. We would not be able to come boldly before His
throne, or find shelter in the shadow of His wings. Our sins would keep us
separated from Him; there would be no mercy, no grace. But Jesus was the great
Peacemaker who reconciled us to God through His sacrificial death and
resurrection. This is why peacemakers will be called the children of God –
because the Peacemaker was the Son of God. When we walk in the
footsteps of Jesus and act as peacemakers, we resemble Him. We show ourselves children of God by imitating God’s
only Son.
PRAYER AND
MEDITATION
1. Think of relationships where you feel threatened by your
friends’ friends, and jot those down. What is the threat? What are you afraid
of? Bring these fears to Jesus and ask Him what He wants to say about them. Ask
for His peace in each situation.
2. Ask God if there is a specific relationship where he is
asking you to take the role of peacemaker. Ask Him what that looks like.
3. Jesus is the Peacemaker who made peace between you and
God. Meditate on what this means for you and thank Jesus for His act.
