Conflict

Having the HVAC filters changed today at church reminded me that we constantly seek answers no matter who we are or what we are doing. Earlier this morning, I had a parking lot conversation with an employee from the filter company that replaced our HVAC filters. His question was simple; "Pastor, are the conflicts today an indicator that the end times are coming?" 

Friends, all of us have observed the past few weeks that conflict is complex, no matter what the conflict is. I've been following; maybe you have to, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and that's just difficult to see the images and the videos and everything going on there and the conflict taking place. But, still, then I think about my own life, where I might have a conflict with just a friend or a family member or even one of you. How should I respond as a friend, family member, and pastor? I need to remember to hed my own words that I often share; pray. At the end of the day, my prayer is that I'd have peace, seek peace and foster peace because peace is freeing. 

Think about it when you have peace with a friend you've had a conflict with or a family member or a nation against a nation, and there's a peace that comes; it's just freeing. It's just life-giving, and Jesus had something to say about that and is probably the most famous sermon of all time. The sermon on the mount, some scholars believe it was multiple sermons all put together by Matthew. But, still, nonetheless, in Matthew chapter 5 verse 9, it reads, "Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God."

Think about this, the word blessed literally means "the happy condition of." The text would then read, "Oh, the happy condition of the peacemakers." In other words, when you make peace with people, there's happiness, a joyous condition, that comes to you. So whether you're praying for resolution between nations or peace for your own conflict, know that you are seeking the guidance of the Lord. In doing so, you are an obedient child of God. 

Today, I hope you become a peacemaker that you step into that conflict to bring peace amid that turmoil that's going on. So I hope that's encouraging to you to be a peacemaker; that's what Jesus would want us to do, and so that's what I want to do in my life today. So I hope you do too.