In a world that is characterized by selfish ambition, conflict, and rivalry it is exceedingly difficult to find anyone who aspires to become a peacemaker!  I got thinking about the radical transformation that occurs when a person becomes a new creation in Christ.  To be born of God (John 1:13) means one is no longer a slave to sin but that of righteousness (Romans 6).  With the Spirit living inside of them believers are equipped and expected to “walk in the way of love,” just as Christ loved and sacrificed His life for us (Ephesians 5:1-2).  While it is easy to love those, who love us back (Luke 6:32), most Christians find it exceptionally difficult to become the peacemakers Christ mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount.  When Jesus says “blessed are the peacemakers” He is not referring to someone who passively imitates the ways of this world to gain their friendship but instead a child of God who confronts and works tirelessly  to find ways to end hostilities and bring the quarrelsome together!  “Never being satisfied with going to heaven alone,” peacemakers will personally sacrifice much to make an appeal to humanity to be reconciled with their God (2 Corinthians 5:20).  By their love and personal sacrifice, peacemakers demonstrate reconciliation in such a way that even the spiritually deaf and blind of this world can hear and see that God’s love exists!  Do you fit this definition of a peacemaker?  If you feel you fall short of this definition, do not be dismayed for the rest of this sermon is going to explain how a child of God can become a peacemaker!