Aug 21 2008
The Gospel at the Heart of Peacemaking
I had mentioned in an earlier post that often, folks that are new to peacemaking have a hard time “getting it.” What I mean by that is that it is very easy to look at biblical peacemaking as a set of rules or skills — i.e., here’s how you get to a place of peace from a place of conflict. Valuable as those skills are, what they tend to miss is how integral the Gospel is to reconciliation. So to me, a person who truly “gets” biblical peacemaking is one who understands the intimate connection between what God has done for us in Christ and how we treat one another.
I’ve been trying to communicate this idea in a new brochure about Peacemaker Ministries. Here’s the brief blurb that tries to get this across:
Reconciliation is at the heart of the gospel, and so the gospel is at the heart of our ministry. Even when we were still his enemies, God made peace with us through the death and resurrection of his Son. And since we have been reconciled with God, we can be reconciled with one another. Because God has forgiven us in Christ, we can forgive others. This is a radically different way for Christians to relate to each other—a way that glorifies his Son and powerfully appeals to a watching world. Peacemaker Ministries exists to help the church live out this wonderful truth.
Does this make sense? Let me know if you have ideas on how I can communicate this better, because I really do believe it is at the core of what we do as a ministry (and how we live as Christians).
I think this is an excellent statement. In Unpacking Forgiveness (forthcoming), it took me a whole book to state this.
I too, have found that it takes a lot of Bible teaching, illustrations, and true stories for people to begin to see how this works out in life.
As I said in my post today, I think many (most?) professing Christians misunderstand the relationship between reconciliation and forgiveness. . .
I am thankful for your ministry.
Well said!
Yours,
t
I did my dissertation (for a Doctor of Psychology degree) on exemplar Muslim and Christian interfaith peacemakers. While being involved in some interfaith dialogues between Muslim and Christian academics and reading the literature on the psychology of peacemaking, I became frustrated with the focus on the “set of rules or skills.” One of the suggestions I made in my dissertation was that peacemaking programs could be more effective by focusing more on spiritual formation to develop a vision for peace. Out of my dissertation, I created a couple hour seminar to attempt this. I’ve only tried it out once, so it’s still in early stages. If you want more info on any of the work I’ve done, email me. Hopefully with all of our discussions, we can better understand peace, how to achieve it, and how to help everyone gain a vision for it!
I think you’re really onto something here, Fred. I’m going to give you questions some very special prayerful attention and maybe we can find some time to chew the fat on the topic at Orlando! Looking forward to seeing you there!
Blessings to you (all).
Fred – I couldn’t agree more with you here. When I have tried to teach principles of peacemaking beginning with the gospel I almost always get push backs to the effect that “that’s not the issue,” i.e. the “issue” is the issue. Getting the gospel into the lives of Christians is a monumental task, and I shouldn’t say that with any sense of superiority. I can see the truth of this clearly while leaving a comment on your blog, but when I am in the heat of conflict I have a great desire to focus on the issue and not the gospel.
Thanks for your input, everyone! This issue is a real challenge, and I’m grateful for your encouragement.
I love your ministry. I have found the Peacemaker book to be very helpful in living before others with a good conscience. I think that your specific thoughts on the gospel being at the heart of peacemaking is wonderful too.
Thank you for your work.
I have a couple suggestions.
1. I think that adding “joyfully” to “we can forgive others.” would be a helpful word to share the true joy that comes in being reconciled with a brother or sister. It could be placed between “can” and “forgive”.
2. I think that saying “this is a radically different way for Christians to relate to each other” could be changed to something that emphasizes that this IS the way Christians will relate to one another. I am aware that many who profess faith, even myself, don’t always practice peacemaking in the radical gospel centered way. However, it seems like a stronger emphasis on this being the masters way for his disciples would be helpful.
Maybe: “This IS THE radically different way that Christians relate to each other.” would bring a more robust punch to the statement.
Peace,
Benjamin