Peacemaking: A Way of Life

by | Jan 21, 2021 | Notes from the Executive Director

Jer Swigart & Jon Huckins state in their book Mending the Divides “peacemaking isn’t a reaction to conflict; it’s a way of life. That said, conflict is an everyday reality that requires everyday peace… Our discipleship invitation is to be everyday peacemakers who are formed and mobilized to love creatively in our conflicted world.”

When conflict arises, do you catch yourself reacting and searching for the best way to bring peace to the center of the conflict? I often wonder what that scenario would look like if more of us took the time to make peacemaking a way of life instead of an instinctual reaction. As I read this idea in Mending the Divides, something shifted. Something finally made sense to me. We experience conflict every single day, so if we are going to truly show up each day and put our best foot forward and fight for each other, we have to live with a consistent intention of peace. We have to wake up each day and choose to follow the ways of Jesus and be peacemakers everywhere. Especially today, we have to be intentional about the creative ways that we choose to love others.

How are we living into this call to be peacemakers each and every day? What choices are we making to love instead of hate? How are we loving creatively in the midst of deep conflict? What does it look like for us to love, serve and connect today? Will those choices lead to peace?

These questions challenge me. They push me to think about the choices I make each day and prioritize the journey toward a way of life that looks like Jesus, the Prince of Peace. What is stirring in you after reading these words? What is one change you can make today to be a peacemaker right where you are?

Now…go read the book!