Those who have purity of heart want only one thing: more of God. The promise is that they will see God if their hearts are pure. They will see His glory, and they will see Him work. For this reason, those with pure hearts may be the best qualified to be peacemakers, bringing enemies together and reconciling relationships.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

The peace which the Bible calls blessed does not come from the evasion of issues; it comes from facing them, dealing with them, and conquering them.

If our God is a peacemaker and we are to be imitators of God like children, then we are to be peacemakers. The ego must be laid aside to be a peacemaker. You must be willing to receive no glory. You must be willing to appear weak. You may fail in your efforts; you may be rejected. It takes tremendous strength, but that is what Jesus did, and that is what we must do to be peacemakers.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:10).

Being a son or daughter of God means being identified with God—and being identified with God is not always well received. If we are living out the beatitudes of Matthew 5, we will experience persecution.

Jesus finished the last beatitude by saying, “Rejoice and be glad” (v. 12). The response to being reviled and rejected by men is not to be bitter, hopeless, or ashamed. According to Jesus, it is to rejoice and be glad.

Jesus Christ lived and died as a king, but His crown was a crown of thorns. His throne was a wooden cross. To everyone else, it may have looked like defeat, but, to this king, it meant victory. Today He reigns from heaven, and we reign in this life by submitting to His authority.

You might not feel like the co-heir of a heavenly Kingdom right now. Maybe you’re battling pride, you’re afraid to share your faith, or you’re struggling to forgive. God wants you to have victory, and only His Spirit can enable you to live like a king, to live like Christ. Only by His Spirit can you yield your all to Him.

For believers in Christ, true kingship is not what happens when everything is going our way, but something we experience as we surrender to the King of kings. The promises and the blessings are there for you—will you submit to Him?

Prayer: Lord, show me the hindrances that keep me from fully surrendering to You. Give me courage, so that, even in the face of persecution, I will remain faithful to You. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

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