I have been reading a book called The Peacemaker. If you need a WELS seal for credibility, it was accepted at a WELS pastors conference as being one of the better books that are not WELS. It references the Bible a lot, which is cool, because you can read it first without looking everything up and then go back and make it like a Bible study and look all the verses up. I am doing that now, because I really liked the book. My husband and I enjoy reading "couples" books about communciation, etc.--secular and faith-based--but this book is the best we have read for conflict solution. And it applies to any relationship, and, more importantly, our relationship with God. I just want to put in a plug for this book, because it has changed my life in small ways. Though becoming a peacemaker is a daily challenge yet for me and always will be, the Biblical insights in this book have really opened my eyes and urged me toward peace, time and again. I would highly encourage it for any person.
The first chapter talks about the slippery slope of peacemaking. Picture an arch with words written over it like a rainbow. It reads from left to right, "Suicide, flight, denial, overlook, reconciliation, negotiation, mediation, arbitration, accountability, assault, litigation, murder." Did you see some patterns? The first three and last three are pretty undesirable, right? Those in the middle at the top of the slope are peacemaking responses. The bottom sides of the slope have something in common--selfishness at the core. Whether fleeing from conflict or blaming it on someone else (flight or assault), we are considering only ourselves. Someone who is a peacemaker is not selfish, but a selfless lover who views conflict as an opportunity to love.
This is the kind of love the Christ has for us. He reconciled us to him through his death on the cross. I pray he reminds us of this daily, drawing us close to him, that we would be at peace. :) Only then can we be peacemakers in this world.
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