Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

 Matthew 5:9

I am now reading the latest book on Napoleon, huge and thoroughly detailed.  Napoleon was a warrior.  He gained prominence in France by his military skills.  It is ironic that after the French Revolution that destroyed the ruling class, even the royalty, a few years later this man Napoleon from a small island in the Mediterranean appeared on the scene and remade France as a military power.  He was so successful that the nation made him their Emperor!  As such he extended the power of France all the way to Russia, where he was finally stopped.  It is easier to make war than peace, I suppose. He did much to restore France as a modern state, but he was still “Emperor.”  Like in the ancient Roman Empire.

With the buzz from this book in my head, I read these words of Jesus.  They sound so strange!  “Blessed are the peacemakers.”  One would have guessed that in our world it is, “Blessed are those with the most power, all kinds of power.  Because the powerful are blessed, not the weak.”

I believe that Napoleon thought peace would be the result of conquering others and ruling them according to the laws of France.  History reveals the futility of that.

This brings us back to the clear word of Jesus.  I will restate his words. “The children of God, those who are in his family and under his authority, are the blessed, above all others as they make peace.”  I believe that to make peace one must lay down one’s rights, so to speak, and then reach out to embrace the enemy.  As I write this I am made aware, again, of how preposterous it sounds. Our culture pits people against people.  That has dominated tribalism in Africa for centuries. And the story goes on.

Once again, the teaching of Jesus is clear, the children of God make peace.  I live in the light of this reality but do I really put it into practice?  I need to keep reminding myself that it is easier to fight than to make peace.  May God show us the way.