Matthew 5:9, NRSV

This past Friday, former National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, was laid to rest at the age of eighty-nine. Zbig, as his friends called him, was the architect of the 1978 Camp David Peace Accord that brought an end to on-going hostilities between Egypt and Israel. This singular agreement successfully created an armistice that has lasted nearly four decades. Many within the international community hailed Zbig Brzezinski’s efforts to bring about peace as a stroke of genius.

I greatly admired Zbig Brzezinski and his work. However, I disagree that the Camp David Accord brought about peace. The agreement certainly brought an end to border conflicts between two countries yet from a biblical perspective, a great difference exists between a truce and peace. The reality is that human beings can only contain conflict. Only God can bring about peace.

The word that the Jewish people use to describe peace is shalom. Shalom is what I call a 360 degree kind of peace—a peace that permeates our relationships with God, with each other, and even with ourselves. Shalom is the universal peace toward which Jesus was pointing when he said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9, NRSV).

Now, I realize that Jesus’ encouragement to become peacemakers contradicts the belief that human beings at best can contain conflict. What I mean is that how can we, as Christians, be peacemakers when only God can bring about peace? The Bible’s answer to this dilemma comes from Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:20: “So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” This is the caveat: Jesus is making His appeal through us. It’s not that we are speaking on behalf of Jesus. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is spreading Shalom (360 degree peace) through us.

Now, hear me clearly. You may not become a National Security Advisor to the President of the United States. Christ may direct you to promote peace within your marriage or at work or in your neighborhood or within your church. Your sphere of influence may extend to an estranged family member or your capricious boss or to a beleaguered friend. Regardless of where and to whom Jesus calls you, he is looking for people who are passionate about the pursuit of peace.

As Sy and Jill Miller wrote, “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.” Before God can promote peace through you, the Spirit of Christ must produce peace within you. More often than not, we fail to have peace with other people because we feel threatened by them. When we feel threatened, we build emotional barriers. We create defensive attitudes to prevent ourselves from being harmed. Unconsciously, we attack the other person’s defenses by tossing out unkind remarks and barbs yet insist that we’re just kidding. We ignore them or barely speak to them at all. We torpedo their ideas and roll our eyes at their accomplishments. We tolerate their presence and simultaneously abhor their existence.

Moreover, the people who threaten us tend to reciprocate by creating their own barriers. And, as crazy as it may sound, the most effective way to break the impasse is for you to permit God to tear down your own defenses. I’m convinced that the primary reason reconciliation fails is because each person in the relationship expects the other to lower his guard. The reasoning is that if I lower my guard, the other guy may get me.

I realize that making one’s self vulnerable is a scary proposition yet if God is going to build a bridge between my wife and me or my colleague and me or my classmate and me, I have to start on my side of the relationship. Have you ever watched how engineers build a bridge between two separated pieces of land? They begin by running a thin cable from one side of the breach to the other and attach each end of the cable to a solid structure. A skinny piece of metal is the basis for building bridges. In a metaphorical way, Jesus is asking us as peacemakers to do something similar. We must allow God to find a way to break down any defensive measures within us and create a pathway that will lead toward reconciliation.

Years ago, I visited a church in Montgomery, Alabama. I attended a conference that featured a woman who spoke on the issue of reconciling with others. Kay told the story of a friend with whom she had a sharp disagreement. Following the argument, Kay said that her friend refused to speak to her. Kay was heartbroken. She knew of no other place to turn but to God in prayer. During her time in prayer, Kay heard God speak these four words: “Maximize prayer; minimize contact.” In short, God was telling Kay not to reach out to her friend but to pray for their relationship. During the ensuing months, God revealed to Kay those damaging parts of the relationship for which Kay was responsible. The following Christmas, God led Kay to send her friend a simple Christmas card with the words, “I pray you have a blessed Christmas. I miss you.” Less than a week later, Kay received a phone call from her friend. A few days after that, the two had lunch together. They each apologized for whatever part they had played in their falling out. Today, their friendship is stronger than ever. And, it all began with a thin cable (in this case a Christmas card) bathed in prayer.

The truth is that as humans, we are too flawed to bring about peace through our own efforts. Our hearts are sadly tainted by jealousy, pride, ignorance, and questionable motives. We can only become peacemakers by first dealing with those deep places wherein we struggle with anger, resentment, and other hostile emotions. In fact, it is simply impossible to make peace with others when our own spirits are entangled in animosity. For those of us who long to be peacemakers, we must first claim the healing power of Jesus’ love to restore peace within our own hearts. Only inner peace can give rise to an outward commitment of peacemaking.

In the 1930’s, King George VI of England made an important speech which was transmitted via radio to millions of listeners. The broadcast was intended to address the growing tensions in Europe that eventually led to World War II. In the midst of his words, someone tripped over an electrical wire which had been stretched across the floor, tearing it apart and interrupting the signal. Seeing the crisis unfold, the chief engineer quickly grasped the loose wires in his bare hands, providing a conduit for the signal. For twenty minutes, the current literally passed through his body while the king finished his speech. His hands were slightly burned but through them the words of the King were communicated to countless people. Without the engineer’s courage and endurance, the King’s message would have failed to reach its destination.

Like that quick-thinking engineer, we too are to be channels for the King. Not the King of England but the King of Kings. We are called by God Himself to be His channels of love and peace. He has chosen to work through human instruments to bring about reconciliation in a 360 degree manner with God, with others, and within ourselves. The question is simple: Are you willing to become Christ’s ambassador of peace?

The poet Annie Johnson Flint once wrote the following:

“Christ has no hands but our hands to do his work today.
He hands no feet but our feet to lead men in his way.
He has no voice but our voice to tell them how he died.
He has no help but our help to lead them to his side.”