A few days ago, a friend of mine pulled me aside and shared with me how angry he was with another one of my friends because he had been slighted. The offense was real and intense. I listened to my friend sharing his feelings and then asked what can I do to help. His response? He asked me to talk to my friend for him. Can you say, “AWKWARD”? I’ve found myself in situations like this many times as a pastor, but these were not people in my church and I knew it was going to be much tougher.

Two key verses of Scripture came to mind while contemplating what to say:

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” Matthew 5:9

“Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.” James 3:18

In all honesty, I was dreading being caught in the middle of the whole situation, but had a keen awareness that God had a plan in mind for the whole situation. To make a long story short: my conversation with my friend (the offending person) went really well. He called my offended friend and they reconciled things quickly and have moved forward in their friendship.

What did I get out of all of it? It seems like both of my buddies see me differently today than before the incident. Maybe, even though I never would have chosen to be caught in the middle of the conflict, God made me look a little more like Jesus than before (at least to my two friends). Hard as it was, it is an awesome thing to be used by God!

Go out and make PEACE today! And when you do, remember, you’ll look more like HIM!