The Importance of Biblical Peacemaking {New Series}
If you are around anyone long enough, or develop friendships of any kind, conflict is bound to happen. We live in a fallen world with sin all around us. Conflict happens each and every day.
Welcome to my all new series, Biblical Peacemaking for Families: Resolving Conflict by God’s Grace! You can catch up on all the posts in the series here.
This is especially true within a marriage and a family. If a family doesn’t fight, then that probably means they don’t talk to each other. You are a fallen, sinful human. Your married to a fallen, sinful human. You produced fallen, sinful little humans.
Conflict is going to happen. So what we need to learn and study God’s Word for is how we go about resolving that conflict Biblically and how to start avoiding those conflicts in the future.
Peacemaking for Families
Contrary to many pop-psychology answers that our culture gives today, there are actual conflict resolving techniques that we can use and live by that we can find in God’s Word.
Why is Biblical Peacemaking so vitally important to our marriages and our families today?
“As you learn to be a peacemaker, you can guard your family from destructive conflict, deepen your love and intimacy with your spouse, and provide your children with a solid foundation for life. Most importantly, you can provide the world with a compelling witness to the reconciling power of Jesus Christ.” ~ Peacemaking for Families, pg x.
Peace-Fakers or Peace-Breakers
Most of us, when we fight, fall under two categories: we are either peace-fakers or peace-breakers! Peace-fakers are the ones that run away from conflict, pretend it doesn’t exist. Peace-breakers are the fighting type, the ones you can never walk away from a fight without “winning”. Both types are sinful and when we fall into one camp or the other we are anything but Peacemakers.
“We can be peace-fakers, denying that we have problems, always giving in, or becoming distant from family members. We can be peace-breakers, relying on manipulation, a sharp tongue, or overt anger to compel others to give in to our wishes. Both of these approaches can wreak havoc on families, reducing them to superficial coexistence or burned-out battlegrounds.
“Our third option is to use the conflicts of family life to become peacemakers, drawing on God’s grace and practicing the powerful peacemaking principles He has given to us in His Word. This approach may require a lot of work and change, but it is the surest way to preserve your marriage and see your family mature in love, in character, and in its witness for Christ.” ~ Peacemaking for Families, pg ix
Peacemaking by God’s Grace
Whether you have the relatively minor every day conflicts to resolve in your family, or knock-out-drag-out fights that last days and are tearing your family apart, you can learn peacemaking skills from Scripture to help resolve conflict Biblically – by God’s Grace!
He gives us the tools to live at Peace with one another.
“If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” ~ Romans 12:18
On Wednesday we are going to take a look at the three ways you can respond to conflict and start using peacemaking skills within your marriage and family!
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