Making the First Move
He was the first one to initiate conversation. Other than my daddy, he was the first one who took my hand and held it. He was the first one to call me and ask if he could kiss me behind the church on Sunday night. AND, he was the first one to get his drivers license. So, when his dad bought a brand new Buick Electra, he asked his dad if he could drive me just around the block in it. Unfortunately, he put the pedal to the metal, unaware of a dip in the road, hit it with a vengeance and…..the car’s engine fell out. The temptation to impress was a ginormous mistake. His first of that caliber. Fortunately, his loving father wrapped his arms around him in love as he laid across the car in remorse.
And, thanks to Adam and Eve and their first mistake, that we are all hardwired with certain tendencies that get us off balance. One such tendency is to get angry. Thank God that “Dad” (he later became my father-in-law) didn’t fall prey to that tendency when his son blew it. Thanks to Jesus and His sacrifice, He gave us a higher standard. He calls us to be peacemakers — not just peacekeepers. Peacekeepers usually avoid conflict, but peacemakers resolve conflict and reconcile relationships.
We need a world of peacemakers! And that includes you and me. The Bible promises this: “Those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness” (James 3:18). We planted a lot of seed on our Oklahoma ranch. We had huge vegetable gardens and we found that planting a few seeds could yield a bumper crop.
It’s the law of sowing and reaping. The same is true in planting seeds of anger and hate or peace and love. If we plant seeds of hate, we’ll reap anger, bitterness, and trouble. But the Bible says if we plant seeds of peace, we will reap a harvest of peace, kindness, and goodness in return.
One of the most important life skills we will ever learn is conflict resolution. Let’s consider a bitter argument between a husband and wife. Someone must make the first move toward peace. I remember sleeping on the far edge of our bed because I wasn’t about to start the peace conversation. I waited for my husband to make the first move. And, in keeping with how he started, he usually was the first “mover”. These many years later, I have found that the better person is the one who takes the initiative to resolve conflict and make amends.
Jesus took the initiative to show mercy to us. “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 5:8,10). 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. He wants us to call for Peace Summits – where the expected result is always peace!
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.” (Matthew 5:9) Being a peacemaker means making the first move: “I apologize for anything I did or said that created this conflict. Will you please forgive me?” Jesus made the first move — shouldn’t we?