“Although the pressures felt by today’s rising generation differ from those of the young person in Galilee—polarization, secularization, retaliation, road rage, outrage, and social media pile-ons—both generations face cultures of conflict and tension.
…Here they receive the same enduring invitations from the Lord: to let their light shine before others, to seek righteousness even when persecuted, and to love their enemies.
They also receive encouraging words from living prophets of the Restoration: “Peacemakers needed.” Disagree without being disagreeable. Replace contention and pride with forgiveness and love. Build bridges of cooperation and understanding, not walls of prejudice or segregation. And the same promise: “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
…The gospel of Jesus Christ nurtures and knits these divine traits, including peacemaking, into our hearts, blessing us in this life and the next.
…respond with kindness. Not just polite restraint but a deliberate, heartfelt outpouring of kind words and thoughtful deeds, no matter how …[you are] treated in return.
…To be peacemakers, we forgive others and deliberately build others up instead of tearing them down.
…When we come to know the glory of God, then we “will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably.” In our congregations and our communities, may we choose to see one another as children of God.
A One-Week Peacemaker Plan
I offer an invitation. Peacemaking demands action—what might that be, for each of us, starting tomorrow? Would you consider a one-week, three-step peacemaker plan?
- A contention-free… zone: When contention starts, pause and reboot with kind words and deeds.
- Digital bridge building: Before posting, replying, or commenting online, ask, Will this build a bridge? If not, stop. Do not send. Instead, share goodness. Publish peace in the place of hate.
- Repair and reunite: …seek out a strained relationship in order to apologize, minister, repair, and reunite.
…Peacemaking is a Christlike attribute. Peacemakers are sometimes labeled naive or weak—from all sides. Yet, to be a peacemaker is not to be weak but to be strong in a way that the world may not understand. Peacemaking requires courage and compromise but does not require sacrifice of principle. Peacemaking is to lead with an open heart, not a closed mind. It is to approach one another with extended hands, not clenched fists.
…We fulfill our divine role as children of a loving Heavenly Father as we strive to become peacemakers.”