10. Children of God
Matthew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Every normal, sane, rational person on earth wants peace; we all want peaceful conditions around us so we can live and enjoy life peacefully; we all desire life without stress and strife (which hasn’t happened since the Fall); we don’t want to be bothered with hassles, arguments, strife and the fear of war. In this way everyone is a “peacemaker.”
Sin, Death and the Devil are warmongers, stirring up strife, causing dissensions, making war, and doing everything possible to take peace from the earth and from the heart. It may seem to us that we are “dwelling among those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!” [Psalm 120:6-7]. Although no one wants war, there are people who are tempted and deceived by the Enemy to make war and stir up strife. The more arguments and violent disputes the Enemy can stir up the better it is for Evil.
The promise of being called children of God is for those who want peace: this includes me, for I “seek peace and pursue it.” As a child of God I will be safe and comfortable and at peace in the circle of the family of God. The Gospel of the Kingdom that Jesus is bringing into the world is making peace real and alive in the mind and with God and with others. Being called a child of God is the fulfillment of my desire for peace. The love of parents for their children is legendary, deep and strong. This earthly picture reveals to us the strength of God’s love for us in making us his own children. I John 3:1: “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”