This makes the seventh post of my series, walking us through the beatitudes. With the last post, our focus was being pure in heart and seeing God. With this week’s post, our goal is to do much more than see God. We want to become a part of His family. We want to become His children, co-heirs with Jesus Christ. For this, we will be looking at Matthew 5:9. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” To receive this blessing, becoming a son of God, we need to look at four specific areas. We will look at what it means to be at peace with God, being at peace with others, helping other people to discover peace with God themselves, and being a son of God. Before getting started with the post, I wanted to give a quick reminder that my book, “The Tea Room Scrolls: Volume 2,” can be preordered here. This book will guide you through a much more detailed study of The Beatitudes than this blog post series. Let’s get started with this week’s post! Being at Peace with God This peace with God is known as shalom. It can be complete or whole. By nature and nurture, each of us is a traitor. We regularly commit treason against an Almighty King. Still, because He is rich in mercy, God lays down His life for His enemy. God the Father reconciles us unto himself through His Son, Jesus Christ. This Hebrew word “shalom” is much richer than the English word “peace.” Shalom doesn’t just demonstrate an absence of turmoil and conflict. It shows receiving positive blessings when it comes to a right relationship with God. It creates the space where everything is alright in our lives, especially under tribulation and persecution. Being at peace with God doesn’t mean we no longer have troubles in life. As a matter of fact, this can be just the opposite; Jesus said the way is narrow and hard. Yet, when we are at peace with God, we find amazing blessings in life, regardless of how difficult the situations and circumstances are around us. Despite everything we have going on in our lives, we have peace with God. Our fight is no longer against Him. Our war against God has ended. Being at Peace with Others With this beatitude, the ministry of human reconciliation is present. If you are a child of God, peace-making is both your assignment and birth right. Peace can be hard-won, especially with those who don’t believe in God the Father. Peace cost Jesus His life on the cross. It is not supposed to be easily accomplished for us. It is something we must strive for. When you become a peacemaker, you will be ok with stepping away from any rights you think you might have. When it comes to living in harmony with other people, you will become willing to do whatever it takes. You can focus on being right, or you can focus on making peace. Unfortunately, you can’t do both. As followers of Jesus, not only is it our duty to make sure we are at peace with everyone else. It is our responsibility to do what we can to reconcile them to God. Blessed are you when you realize God the Father loves you so much that He has sent His Son on a rescue mission for you. Blessed are you when you realize the moment Jesus rescues you, you become part of the rescue team helping to save others. Jesus is talking about the believers promoting the messianic peace of God, shalom. They realize they are to extend the love of God, even to their enemies. God’s universal love is available to all people without any discrimination. This is known by theologians and Bible scholars as common grace. It is distinguished from God’s everlasting love for His elect, but it is still genuine. This common grace is the way we are to approach other people. We don’t distinguish whether they are believers or not. We simply show them God’s love. Leading Others to Be at Peace with God As followers of Christ, we are responsible for pointing the lost towards the cross. This isn’t a duty reserved for pastors, ministers, priests, and other church leaders. They have a job already, feeding their flock. As God’s children, it is on us to point others towards Him. This is why I mentioned earlier, blessed are you when you realize the moment you were rescued, you became part of the rescue party. It is now on you to play a role in rescuing others. Therefore, we have to be willing to share the Gospel message with others. It doesn’t matter if you are a student on campus. It doesn’t matter if you are an employee at the office, a parent at home, or just a neighbor in a neighborhood. It is your responsibility to share the Gospel with others. Being a peacemaker is helping others find peace with God. This is why we pray for other people, especially those who are still lost. We spend time with God, begging Him to save their souls. We ask Him to open the eyes and the hearts of our family and friends to make them aware of His presence in their lives. Regardless of the need to be blessed or broken, we ask God to teach them how to identify His Spirit. Because God created them, He knows them better than they even know themselves. God knows exactly what it is going to take to get their attention. We ask Him to do whatever needs to be done for our friends to know Him. If you believe in Jesus Christ, you must be a part of the movement, part of what was called “the way” during New Testament times. The church is not a building. It is the group of believers making the body of Christ. Church isn’t somewhere we go. It’s something we do. May we never stop trying to reconcile others to God. I am actively writing another resource which I hope will be helpful in reaching people in today’s culture. Stay tuned. Becoming a Son of God Let’s first be clear, this statement isn’t limited to male readers. Language and culture has changed in 2000 years. Better to read this as becoming children of God. I’ll explain more shortly. I want to shift our attention back to Paul’s letter to the Romans. Let’s look at chapter 8:14-15. “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” Women and men alike are characterized as having a son’s rights. During biblical times, only through sonship could someone have the right of inheritance. The term “sons” refers to both men and women who have been adopted into the family of God, enjoying all the obligations, privileges, and inheritance rights only a son could receive during this time. You might be someone who loves all children. Still, if you have kids of your own, you know the special place they have in your heart. They don’t have to ask for your attention. They feel no need to seek the king’s permission to be comfortable. They have the freedom to be themselves and enjoy life to the fullest. Regardless of what they do, how foolish they may look, they know that they have your complete love and support. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, this is exactly how God sees you. You are His child, and He loves you unconditionally. The battle has been fought, and the war is over. You are at peace with God. Welcome to His family.