Recently, I had a conversation with Pastor Fred Michaux from my church. Fred and I were talking about the difference between real peace and conflict avoidance. Fred said, "Peace is not the absence of conflict, but it is the presence of the willingness to reconcile."
Reflecting on what Fred said, I have come to the conclusion that peacemakers may be labeled troublemakers. Sometimes you have to take an action that could cause conflict in the short term in order to bring a lasting peace in the future. Jesus did this all of the time. He never shied away from conflict if it forced the underlining issue to be resolved or at least identified. Is that what Jesus had in mind when He said, "Blessed are the peacemakers?"
