A "peacemaker" is one who seeks to bring harmony and reconciliation between those who are estranged. Peacemaking seeks to produce right relationships between persons. God hates those who sow discord and stir up trouble (Proverbs 6:19). Vet every community and every local church and many homes have people who thrive on divisions and conflict and unrest.

Peacemakers are needed in our churches. Holding grudges and evil speaking are common sources of conflict among believers. Busybodies and slanderers and disagreeable persons can cause havoc in a congregation.

Peacemakers are needed in our homes. Quarreling and disagreements and unwillingness to respect God's order of authority, often lead people to treat the worst those who really love them the most -- intimate family members.

Peacemakers are needed among nations. Christians should face the nuclear question squarely, doing all they can to prevent nuclear war. We are to seek to live at peace with all persons (Romans 12:18). Our faith requires that we love God and our neighbors and pray for our enemies.

The greatest need is to carry to people the message of "peace with God" (Romans 5:1). God has promised a destruction worse than a nuclear holocaust for those who are rejecting the atonement provided through faith in Jesus Christ(Matthew 25:41; Romans 5:9). As individuals on a massive international scale come to know Christ -- to that extent, the world will experience a greater or lesser degree of peace.