“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9). This is possibly the best known of the beautiful assurances, since known as the Beatitudes, that begin Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Each beatitude shares a spiritual quality that leads to blessings—blessings that include a deep happiness, peace, and well-being. But what does it mean to be a peacemaker today? It must mean more than simply avoiding or settling arguments. 

According to Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language, the definition of peace includes “a state of quiet or tranquillity; freedom from disturbance or agitation,” “freedom from internal commotion,” “harmony; concord,” and “heavenly rest.” This helped me realize that peace must be genuinely felt within; an outward appearance of calm and peace is not enough. I cannot be an effective peacemaker for others until I feel peace and harmony myself, through striving to be free from any form of upset or anxiety. 

Christ Jesus surely had this pure sense of peace. His birth was heralded by angels declaring, “On earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). Jesus’ lifework gave us clear examples of being a peacemaker and exhibiting spiritual qualities. He saved a woman from a group that felt she deserved to be stoned, and walked unharmed himself through a hateful crowd intending to stone him (see John 8:3–11 and Luke 4:28–30). He had to have kept his thought on God, not letting fear, self-righteousness, or anger enter in. Without this exalted thought centered on God, he wouldn’t have been able to provide or experience protection against a mob bent on harm.