Psalm 34:14b admonishes us: Look for peace and work for it. Jesus said: Blessed are the peace-makers (Matthew 5:9). Both of these passages teach us that, as God's children (those who would carry on the family business, so to speak), we have a responsibility to actively pursue peace. Peace never comes by the path of least resistance.What if I refused to stoke a conflict applying water, rather than gasoline, to smoldering fires. What if I actively advocated for peace, a smoothing hand to ruffled feathers and a soothing voice to frenzied spirits? And what if I had the kind and volume of peace in my hearts that overflowed to those around me.
The antithesis of this peacemaker ethic is hiding behind my right to not get involved. That's what the priest and the Levite did when they happened upon a crime victim in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan, on the other hand, simply got involved and did what he could to heal the ravages of violence. He didn't end a war or free a nation, he just reached out to another human being.
Where would God have you get involved in the pursuit of peace?
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