There was a movie several years ago …“Rules of Engagement”. An army officer in Yemen is accused of killing civilians. It is a violent drama but demonstrates how little we actually know of combat and the men who give their lives for our country. The evidence against him seems convincing until all the facts are revealed.
My devotional is not about violence per se but unfortunately violence follows Jesus as well as His disciples.
In Matthew, chapters five through seven, we are told that Jesus took his disciples up onto a mountain. He was training them for service in the kingdom. We call this dissertation “The Sermon on Mount”.
The Lord was instructing his disciples how they must carry on His teaching after He left them. There was a special relationship of these followers to their rabbi. They would spend three years with Him. They left their families, their trades, and their way of life. They would trust Him in every area of living. They followed their Lord’s teachings in order to become like Him in knowledge, wisdom and ethical behavior.
The Lord lists several attributes and life styles that would distinguish them as disciples. I call them God’s “rules of engagement”.
The Lord uses the word “blessed” in most of our translations. The Hebrew word is “asher” which has a greater depth of meaning…such as happy, fortunate, as well as blessed.
He lists several of these attributes: Meekness is not weakness but strength….disciples are meek in behavior but strong in obedience; Righteousness….doing God’s will in the kingdom, never cheating one’s neighbor, being truthful and honest toward others; Merciful……showing deep love for others, forgiveness.
I would like to focus on one particular beatitude of Jesus, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.” (Matt 5:9).
When we put the word “peace” back into the original Hebrew which Jesus spoke, it means “shalom”. Peace in Hebrew means wholeness or completeness. In certain ways it denotes a person’s healing or even salvation. Someone who is saved from life’s difficulties experiences the peace of God. This comes by divine grace and favor. The word “shalom’ also can refer to the absence of war, strife or the end of conflict. But more often the word refers to an individual’s spiritual and physical well being as a completely regenerated person through obedience and faith.
Here our Lord is telling his disciples and us that peace (shalom) must be pursued and that one must be willing to pay a high price to achieve it. Those who obey God’s Torah or “rules of engagement” will achieve peace.
We as believers must also pursue peace. We are to make peace, to seek peace and give peace to others. To be a peacemaker therefore, includes accepting yourself as a child of God, loving others, and entering into a right relationship with God. We should emulate our Lord, by seeking to bring healing, and wholeness in a world that has a great need for a genuine Shalom.
“Blessed our the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.”
Are we pursuing shalom? Are we giving shalom to others? This is one of God’s “rules of engagement.”
AbideLines 