Making Peace isn't easy

One particularly dark night, during a church bus run in Eastern Kentucky, I happened upon another car on a very narrow road.

This isn't unusual.  It happened quite a lot.  This time, however, the driver didn't want to back up to a wider spot.  Instead, he expected me to do so.

I must mention that this narrow road had a huge drop off to one side.  The church bus easily covered the width of the road, which curved behind me.  With students on the bus, I didn't feel confident in my ability to safely back the bus to a wider spot in the road.  I could barely see a few feet behind me in the mirrors.

With neither vehicle willing to move, we had a standoff.  He sat there flashing his light.  I sat their drinking a 20-oz Coke.  After five minutes of impasse, the other driver slowly backed his car down the road to a wider spot.  I proceeded to move forward and go around.

As I got near the car, the driver angrily motioned for me to roll down my window.  He wanted to "chat" with me about our stalemate.  I, on the other hand, chose not to engage.  I simply drove past him without even glancing his way.

I knew the conversation would not end well, nor would it glorify Christ.  I chose to be peacemaker.

In Matthew 5:9, Chris says "Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they will be called Sons of God."

Christ asks us to be makers of peace and not sowers of discord.  That means we seek to bring peace to volatile situations.  We need to conduct ourselves in a way that honors Christ and brings his peace to others.

I knew no peace could be made in that situation.  He was angry.  I had students on a bus.  It was best to just walk away and be a peace maker in that situation.

It's not always easy being the peacemaker.  Some people simply don't understand that attitude.  Yet, Jesus says it's the attitude of Christ - bringing peace to an otherwise contentious situation.  Peace only comes from Christ and only by sharing his Gospel can we even hope to bring peace.

Be a peacemaker.  Spread the Gospel of Jesus.

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