Blessed are the cheesemakers

My title comes from one of my favorite lines from film, in which a British-sounding Israelite stands at the back of a crowd, trying to listen to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, when the confused man believes that he hears 'Blessed are the Cheesemakers" and wonders aloud, "What's so special about them?"

Of course, most people know that what the man might have heard, if he'd only been standing closer, was "Blessed are the Peacemakers"

So what is a peacemaker anyway, and how does one become one of them?

Glad you asked, because I've just been learning about it the last couple days, along with nearly all of the Firestone U.S. staff. We're meeting at a church nearby and being led by one of our long-term, mature team leaders. He surprised me yesterday by saying the only thing he and his wife have learned after their 2 decades church planting overseas: is that all of their ministry can be summed up in the one word: peacemaking.

It's been a very enlightening set of seminars, and, each afternoon, we're doing role plays to try resolving real-life examples of conflict, using the info. we've been receiving. Today, we received a lesson on contrition--what constitutes real contrition as opposed to a halfhearted/fake apology (such as "I was wrong...please forgive me for..." rather than "I'm sorry if my actions led you to take offense")

From the teacher's experience on the field, he shared a story of a Muslim he knows who came to Christ, having nothing to his name, basically dressed in rags, and living hand-to-mouth in someone's flower shop. He also had tuberculosis. The Firestone leader was a bit skeptical of the man's faith, but, after probing further, found the man's faith to be genuine. The leader was concerned that he would need to start caring for all of this man's needs, but he was prepared to do whatever God wanted. Soon after the meeting, the new believer was sent by the government to a hospital, where his illness could be treated. While there, Firestone workers visited with him to study Scripture. When they asked the man if he had a job lined up or a place to stay after his eventual release from the hospital, his answer was "No" Then they studied Jesus' words about forgiving others, so that God will also forgive you. The following week, when they asked the man if he had a job or a place to live, his answer was "Yes"

They were surprised and asked him what happened. The new believer reminded them of the Scripture and told them he had obeyed it, going to the brother he had not spoken with in 7 years. They were reconciled, and the brother offered him a place to live and a job.

Using stories like this, our leader explained to us why all of his ministry was actually peacemaking--that bringing reconciliation between men and God also required reconciliation taking place between beings, where relationships needed to be repaired.

More to come...