In my bible readings at the moment, I'm reading through the Sermon on the Mount. While reading Matthew chapter 5 this morning, I noticed something from the Beatitudes that I can't remember noticing before. Verse 9 tells us:
It just caught my attention as to how this is lived out by Jesus, who of course is the Son of God. As Paul says in Colossians 1:19-22:
Christ's mission was one of a peacemaker, it was the Son of God who died to reconcile God with those who were "hostile in mind" towards him by his sacrifice. It's easy to jump from this and say that our application is to be sacrificial as we work towards reconciliation, and that would be a right application, but it is important to also important to keep in mind the means by which reconciliation is achieved. As Paul goes on to say in verse 23:
The ultimate reconciliation, that is the one between a sinner and God, comes from a proclamation of the hope of the gospel of Christ. Not quite the peacemaking role we expect at a time when standing for truth is seen as being "unnecessarily divisive", but if we want to be peacemakers, and so be known as sons of God, this is the road we must follow.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."
It just caught my attention as to how this is lived out by Jesus, who of course is the Son of God. As Paul says in Colossians 1:19-22:
"For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,"
Christ's mission was one of a peacemaker, it was the Son of God who died to reconcile God with those who were "hostile in mind" towards him by his sacrifice. It's easy to jump from this and say that our application is to be sacrificial as we work towards reconciliation, and that would be a right application, but it is important to also important to keep in mind the means by which reconciliation is achieved. As Paul goes on to say in verse 23:
"if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister."
The ultimate reconciliation, that is the one between a sinner and God, comes from a proclamation of the hope of the gospel of Christ. Not quite the peacemaking role we expect at a time when standing for truth is seen as being "unnecessarily divisive", but if we want to be peacemakers, and so be known as sons of God, this is the road we must follow.
2 comments:
Aah someone else using "Explore" then...
I didn't say that everything here is original, but I did notice that from Explore, I hadn't quite picked up on it as clearly before.
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