The Peacemaker Commitment
Peacemaking PledgeA commitment to Biblical Reconciliation
As people reconciled to God through the Gospel of Jesus Christ – Jesus’ life, death, burial, resurrection, and appearance (1 Cor. 15:1-8) – we intend to respond to unhealthy tension in a just, merciful, and humble way (Mic. 6:8).
We believe that by encountering God’s presence, understanding his character, and remembering our identity in Christ Jesus, we will be able to fulfill our calling to live in peace with others as far as it depends on us. (Rom. 12:18).
We also believe that the holy Spirit can transform unhealthy tension, making healthy tension through understanding and living out God’s word (Rom. 12:2). Therefore, in response to God’s love and in reliance on his grace, we commit to walking the Path of a Peacemaker.
STORY:
We all have a story. The entire bible has stories of men and women on their journey against God and with God. Our story is the context of our life. It is the reason why and how we respond to tension we experience. The key to handling unhealthy tension is to understand our own story and their story. Understanding brings perspective, perspective brings grace, grace opens the door for humility, and humility is the most important ingredient to reconciliation. Therefore, peacemakers are willing to gather their own story and the story of the person they are in conflict with. We do this by spending time with God (Ascend), by reflecting on our contribution to the problem (Reflect), and by connecting with the other person through listening, confessing our faults, and forgiving the faults of others (Connect).
ASCEND:
Go Back to the Heavenly Father. Sit down and think about God’s presence with you, contemplate His character, get an eternal perspective, remember your Identity, and study what he has called you to do. God is with you. God loves you. You are a child of God. He has called you to peace. (Psalm 86:15; Isaiah 30:18; John 1:12; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19)
REFLECT:
Take personal responsibility. Ask God to search you and teach you. He will reveal to you your contribution to the problem. Let the Holy Spirit prepare you to go to the other person, He will empower you to humility and love. Begin to live out the Gospel on a daily basis (Matthew 5:23-24; Matthew 7:3-5; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8)
CONNECT:
Reconcile your differences. Sit down with the other person(s) listen to each other, ask questions, read scripture, confess your sins to each other and forgive each other. Remember you have been forgiven much therefore you can forgive much. Develop a plan for the future so that a break in relationship will be less likely to happen again. (James 5:16; Colossians 3:12-13)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I hope you were blessed by this biblical reconciliation resource - Let's go out and be Christian Reconcilers and Peacemakers who make peace.
Blessings
P. Brian Noble