Blessed are the peacemakers...

Ok, so, we just returned from a mission event at church, people sharing experiences, and stories about trips both local and foreign. I have to say I was encouraged by those who were there but disappointed by the overall turnout. Most of you know I went to Jordan this summer, it was my second foreign mission trip. The wonderful thing about going on one of these trips is that in the great economy of God, while we are reaching out to others, God is soooo working on us. You can't return from one of these trips, local or foreign and not be changed. The great thing about the foreign trips is how much your eyes are opened and your worldview is broadened. Let's face it folks, Jesus died for all of us, including people that don't much look like us or live the way we do or believe the same things we do. What I do know is that we all, no matter what we look like or where we live have a God shaped hole we are trying to fill...more about that later. Anyway before I went on this trip to Jordan I was studying the book of Matthew and landed in the Beatitudes, you know where Jesus is giving his Sermon on the Mount and saying, "Blessed are the..." I got to "blessed are the peacemakers" and stopped. What is a peacemaker? What did Jesus mean? What kind of peace are we talking about? I found myself in Ephesians chapter 2 verses, I think 14 to 16 or 17. Basically this says that Jesus is our peace, that he has broken down the barriers, that he has reconciled all to God through the cross. Therefore bringing Jesus to others is what peacemaking is all about! Breaking down barriers, ours and theirs, is what peacemaking is all about. That is what these trips are all about!