In the Beatitudes, Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9). It seems straightforward enough. But then when Christians say anything controversial, they’re open to criticism of not being peacemakers.

Take heart; when Jesus sent out the Twelve for ministry, he said,

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. (Matthew 10:34-36 ESV)

And on the night that he was betrayed, he said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.… Read the rest