How to Be a Peacemaker (Part 1)

How to Be a Peacemaker (Part 1)

成为一个和平制造者（一）

Apr 28, 2017

“Those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness” (James 3:18 TLB).

“正义的果实是为促进和平的人用和平栽种出来的。”（雅3:18 和修）

Our natural tendency is to hate our enemies or at least to avoid them at all cost. But if you run from conflict, you’re going to be miserable most of your life. Jesus calls us to a higher standard. He calls us to be peacemakers — not peacekeepers. There’s a huge difference. Peacekeepers avoid conflict and pretend it doesn’t exist. But peacemakers resolve conflict and reconcile relationships.

我们的文化驱使我们恨恶我们的仇敌，或者至少要不惜任何代价避开他们。但是如果你逃避 冲突，那你的生命将是苦不堪言的。耶稣教导我们一个更高的标准。他要我们成为和平制造者————而不是和平保持者。两者之间有着巨大的差异。和平保持者是逃避冲突，假装两者并不存在。但是和平制造者解决冲突，调和关系。

The Bible promises this: “Those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness” (James 3:18 TLB).

圣经有着这样的应许：“正义的果实是为促进和平的人用和平栽种出来的。”（雅3:18 和修）

When you plant a seed, you always get back more than you started with. If you plant an apple seed, you get a whole tree full of apples in return. It’s the law of sowing and reaping. If you plant a seed of conflict, you’ll wind up with a lot more trouble than you bargained for. But the Bible says if you plant seeds of peace, you will reap a harvest of peace, kindness, and goodness in return.

当你种下一粒种子，你收获的一定比你付出的多。如果你种下了一粒苹果种，那你将会得到满满一树的苹果。这就是撒种和收成的自然规律。如果你种下一粒冲突种子，你将会承受更多的麻烦，远超过你的想象。但是圣经说，如果你种下一粒和平的种子，你将会收获满满的和平、恩惠和良善。

So how do you do that? One of the most important life skills that you will ever learn is conflict resolution. Over the next two devotionals, I’ll share with you seven keys to becoming a peacemaker in the midst of conflict. Here are the first three.

那么，你该如何做呢？最重要的生活技能之一就是，你要永远学着解决冲突。接下来的这两天领袖中，我要与你分享7个在冲突中成为和平制造者的钥点。这里是前三条：

Make the first move. Don’t wait for the person to come to you. You take the initiative. Buy that person a cup of coffee or go to lunch together. Jesus took the initiative to show mercy to us. The Bible says, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us .... While we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” (Romans 5:8b, 10a ESV). Jesus didn’t wait for us to apologize. He didn’t even wait for us to feel bad about our behavior. Jesus made the first move. And he wants us to do the same thing.

做主动的人。不要等别人先来找你。你要有主动性。为那个人买一杯咖啡，或者安排一起用餐。耶稣给了我们施怜悯的主动权。圣经说，“惟有基督在我们还作罪人的时候为我们死……因为我们作仇敌的时候……”（罗马书5:8a，10a 和修）耶稣没有等我们道歉。他甚至没有等我们察觉到自己错误的行为。耶稣做了主动的那一位。他也希望我们做同样的事。

Ask God for wisdom. God is always glad to help you when you’re doing what he says. The Bible says, “If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you” (James 1:5a TLB). Ask God to help you decide the right time and the right place to plan a peace conference. Ask him to give you the right words to say and the right way to say them. The Bible says, “The right word at the right time is like precious gold set in silver” (Proverbs 25:11 CEV).

【雅1:5】你们中间若有缺少智慧的，该求那厚赐与众人又不斥责人的　神，　神必赐给他。”（雅1:5 和修）向神求，让他帮助你在正确的时机和地点去计划一场和平的谈话。向他求，给你正确的言语通过正确的方式传达给对方。圣经说，“一句话说得合宜，就如金苹果在银网子里”（箴25:11 和修）

Start with your own confession. Don’t start with a bunch of accusations. Don’t start with the ways you’ve been hurt. Start with what’s your fault. The conflict may be 99.99999 percent the other person’s fault. But you can find something to confess. Instead of accusing the other person — and instead of excusing yourself — start with your own mistakes, even if it was your poor response. But you begin with what was your fault.

从自我道歉开始。不要从一连串的控告开始。也不要从你受伤的点说起。要从你的过错开始。冲突往往99.99999%都是别人的错。但是你可以找到一些你可以道歉的点。代替对对方的控告————以及为自己的辩解————先承认自己的错误，甚至可能只是你没有很好的回应对方。但是你要开始于自己的错误。

We’ll look at four more keys to peacemaking in tomorrow’s devotional.

我们在明天的灵修里，要一起来学习另外四个成为和平制造者钥点。

Talk It Over

讨论问题

If you make the first move and reach out to someone who has hurt you, what assurances do you have that the person will change his or her behavior and/or apologize to you? Does it matter, from an eternal perspective?

如果你要率先行动，联系那个伤害你的人，你有什么确据，那个人要会改变他/她的行为并且向你道歉？从永恒的角度去看，那真的没关系吗？

How should this make a difference in your life: Jesus didn’t wait for us to apologize. Jesus made the first move.

这一点对你的生命有什么影响：“耶稣没有等我道歉，他成为了主动的那一位。