POST 29: How to Be a Peacemaker
POST 29
How to Be a Peacemaker
By now, you’ve probably studied apartheid in school. Apartheid was the system of institutionalized racial segregation in South Africa that lasted from the late 1940s to the 1990s. Nonwhites in South Africa experienced discrimination on a grand scale during this time. Tension constantly ran high.
People of color had the laws stacked against them simply for the color of their skin. Some felt mad. Others hopeless. Some tried to fight back, while others resigned themselves to the status quo. If you’ve experienced racism or other kinds of prejudice, then you know the complicated feelings that can follow. If you haven’t, try putting yourself in the shoes of someone who has.
Desmond Tutu was a South African Anglican bishop—a Black man, serving and ministering in the heart of South Africa. He came from a poor background and experienced hardship. Despite this, he pursued theological studies and rose through the ranks of the Anglican Church.
However, Bishop Tutu was not blind to the damage racist apartheid laws were causing in his country. He knew he had to do something, but what? What could a bishop do to create change? Aren’t Christians told to be peacemakers? You can’t really stir up change if you’re trying to keep the peace, can you?
We must make an important distinction between peacekeeping and peacemaking. Peacekeepers walk on eggshells and avoid confrontation. They stick to the status quo and refuse to rock the boat—even if it means that injustices go unchecked.
Peacemakers, on the other hand, look confrontation square in the face and work toward change. Peacemakers try to unite people and create bridges of unity. Peacemakers are justice seekers.
Desmond Tutu was a peacemaker. He was committed to nonviolence but used his voice and influence to advocate on behalf of the Nonwhite population of South Africa. He raised money, supported civil rights work, testified before governments, made speeches, and never backed down from his belief that all people should be treated equally.
In 1984, Tutu was granted the Nobel Peace Prize. Then in the early 1990s, apartheid was finally officially dismantled.
What was the driving force behind Tutu’s desire for equality? Read some of his words:
Goodness is stronger than evil. Love is stronger than hate. Light is stronger than darkness. Life is stronger than death. Victory is ours through [God] who loved us.
If you want peace, you don’t talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.
There will be no future without forgiveness.
We have an extraordinary God. God is a mighty God, but this God needs you. When someone is hungry, bread doesn’t come down from heaven. When God wants to feed the hungry, you and I must feed the hungry. And now God wants peace in the world.
Desmond Tutu had experienced “vertical” reconciliation—peace with God. This led him to seek “horizontal” reconciliation—peace with the people around him. Without God, this peace would not have been achievable, but with God, victory was attainable. Maybe not in Tutu’s lifetime or even ours, but someday.
READING GOD’S WORD
Remember that once you were Gentiles by physical descent. . . . At that time you were without Christ. You were aliens rather than citizens of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of God’s promise. In this world you had no hope and no God.
But now, thanks to Christ Jesus, you who once were so far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Christ is our peace. He made both Jews and Gentiles into one group. With his body, he broke down the barrier of hatred that divided us. He canceled the detailed rules of the Law so that he could create one new person out of the two groups, making peace. He reconciled them both as one body to God by the cross, which ended the hostility to God.
When he came, he announced the good news of peace to you who were far away from God and to those who were near. We both have access to the Father through Christ by the one Spirit. (Ephesians 2:11–18)
REFLECT AND RESPOND
Journaling Questions
Why do you think vertical reconciliation with God leads to horizontal reconciliation with people?
Have you experienced peace with God? If not, what step can you take to experience that peace?
How can you be a peacemaker in your community?
Pray This Prayer
God, being a peacemaker is not easy. It’s active and requires courage. Help me to be a peacemaker in my family, friend group, and community. Remind me that your Spirit empowers me to bring peace into every situation. In Jesus’ name, amen.
SOMETHING TO TRY
Where do you see the need for peace in your world? In a friendship, a group at school, your family? How can you commit to making peace in that situation? Consider asking a trusted adult to help you.
THE TAKEAWAY
Vertical peace with God leads to horizontal peace with others—not because we’re peacekeepers but because we’re peacemakers.