Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. –– Matthew 5:9

Peace is a most desirable commodity. Peace is an elusive commodity; therefore, peace is a rare commodity. The importance of peace is stressed over and over again on the pages of the Bible.

Jesus’ last legacy to the Church is found in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you …” We are told in Psalm 34:14, “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.”

The opening words of most of the epistles are “Grace and peace be unto you.”

Peace is also a greeting in many cultures today. The Polish have their word for peace: “Pokoj;” Romanians, “Pace;” Hebrews, “Shalom;” and Arabs similarly say, “Salaam.”

Pastor Russell arranged for the distribution of small lapel pins with the word PAX, Latin for peace, to all who attended the Photodrama [presentation] and who pledged to become children of peace.

The importance of peace cannot be overstressed. But what is peace?

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for peace is Shalom. While Shalom is generally translated as peace, it is not always so. A most interesting use of the word is found in Deuteronomy 27:6, “Thou shalt build the altar of the LORD thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD thy God.” In this text, it is the word “whole” that is translated from the Hebrew word Shalom. Therefore, peace — the more common translation of the word Shalom –– can be identified with the concept of wholeness.

As an illustration: A husband and wife have an argument which creates a rift between them. Since –– except in the direst of circumstances –– divorce is not an option, they have two choices: either live in enmity or discuss the matter and settle it. The wiser method is the latter — and the sooner the better. It is good advice that we are given in Ephesians 4:26 “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.”

Another illustration: Siblings, especially in their youth, often have rivalries that create a rift between them. Usually, as they get older, they settle their differences and become the closest of friends. I’m sure you have found this so; I’ve certainly found this with my two daughters.

Family disputes destroy peace and harmony by causing separations through their disagreements. They will continue to be unhappy until they achieve peace by discussing their differences.

Nations today are at war throughout the globe because they failed to achieve peace because of their unwillingness to listen to and consider the desires of their opponents. History has shown that war does not achieve peace, but rather increases animosity.

Peace is thus a most desirable commodity. But peace is not peace at any price. Peace is based on principles. It is true that peace often requires compromise; but never compromise of principles, rather it involves compromise of preferences. However, here we have a problem. One man’s principles are another man’s preferences. The goal of peace is unity, not necessarily uniformity. As Brother Russell puts it, “On essentials unity, on non-essentials charity.”

The goal of the peacemaker is to find agreement as to what is a principle and what is a preference, between what is essential and what is not essential.

Three rules I find helpful in determining what is essential and what is not essential are: (1) Is it a concept directly taught in scripture or is it a concept based on my interpretation of certain scriptures; (2) Does it affect the way I live my Christian life and (3) Does it affect my overall vision of the Plan of God. If it does not match these three qualifications, I consider it a detail and not an essential.

There is a difference between peace and tranquility. A contest between artists was held. They were asked to depict peace. The runner-up painted a scene of pastoral tranquility with a winding farm road between waving fields of grain with a freshly painted red barn and house in the distance. It was a scene of utmost tranquility, but it was only a runner-up.

The prize went to an artist who painted a turbulent waterfall, with the water rushing madly over crags of rock. At the top of the fall, he painted a dead tree with a spiny branch extending over the waterfall. On the branch sat a bird singing sweetly away. He was at peace. The branch might break, but he had his wings. Peace can exist amidst turbulence.

The other day, when I was in the hospital, I was considering friendship. I have many friends, but only seven very, very close ones. These all have one thing in common. They often do not agree with me, but we have mutual respect and trust. A good friend is not a “yes” man.

So far, we have looked at the importance of peace and examples of discord and the need to make peace. These are but illustrations of the need for peacemaking and that is our theme today. You will recognize our title “Blessed are the Peacemakers” as one of The Beatitudes of Matthew 5 — “The Sermon on the Mount.” It is not only a beatitude, but also the last character beatitude. It is found in Matthew 5:9.

The Beatitudes are not mere suggestions; they are commandments. I like to think of them as the Ten Commandments of the New Testament. In contrast with the Old Testament commandments, these are not given in the negative (thou shalt not) but in the positive, as things we must do to prove faithful.

The Beatitudes are not a random listing of principles. They are given in a specific order for a specific purpose. Think of the beatitudes as a staircase — each one building on the one before it. We might call the beatitudes “The Steps to Glory.”

The first beatitude is, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” All progress in the Christian way begins with a sense of our own nothingness. The first question we are asked at our baptism is, do you recognize that you are a member of a sinful, fallen race? We come to God because we recognize our need for Him.

The late, great tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, in a 1994 interview with Charlie Rose, confessed that he always went on stage with a feeling of inability to perform the role assigned to him. He said he was always just plain scared.

Whenever I give a talk, my knees are shaking until I start the talk, and then feel the power of God behind me.

As the beatitudes are progressive, so are the promises connected with them. The promise to those who are “poor in spirit” is that “theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” Poverty of spirit is the first requirement for those who wish to enter the heavenly call. The second beatitude builds on the first. It is “Blessed are those who mourn.” This is not the mourning for others, but rather the mourning of repentance for our own misdeeds. The second half of the first question usually asked at baptism is “Do you repent of your sins and have you sought to make amends for them?” The promise to these is that “they shall be comforted;” comforted by the release of their sins through casting them on Christ. The second question asked at baptism is “Have you accepted Christ as your personal Savior?”

The third beatitude, still building higher, is, “Blessed are the meek,” the teachable. The third requirement for the Christian is to recognize his own nothingness; he has a willingness to be taught better ways and a better life. The promise to this group is that “they shall inherit the earth.”

Those who are teachable, enter the school of Christ to learn how to be a mediator, a peacemaker. But in order to learn they must be willing to be taught. If successful they will be co-regents with Christ in blessing all mankind and thus inheriting the earth.

The fourth beatitude is, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Note it does not say blessed are those who hunger and thirst for truth. As important as truth is, the goal is not truth, but the righteousness that truth teaches. We often hear of the distinction between knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Knowledge answers the question, What? Understanding answers the question, Why? Wisdom answers the question, So what? The wise man said, above all things get wisdom. Wisdom for the Christian is the application of knowledge, and truth, in producing righteousness. Those who seek righteousness are promised that they shall be filled.

The fifth beatitude is, “Blessed are the merciful.” It is only too human when having, with great difficulty, obtained progress in life, to look back with disdain upon others who have not done the same. It is essential for the Christian to look back upon those who are less developed with great mercy. The old adage is quite true; in looking at others who have made mistakes, to say, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

Often those who make less progress are blind to their faults. As we do not blame a blind man for being blind, but rather are merciful to him, so we should not blame those who are blind to their faults but rather seek mercy to help them. The promise to those who so do, is that “they shall obtain mercy.” This is similar to the Lord’s prayer where we say, “Forgive us our trespasses as (and only as) we forgive others.”

The sixth beatitude is, “Blessed are the pure in heart.” Now we are reaching the apex of our staircase. Purity of heart has to do with our motives. Are we striving for righteousness to be better than others, or to boast about it? Or are we striving because it is the right thing for us to do? We must keep our motives pure for only then can we claim this promise that we shall see God. We shall never see God without purity of heart. James 3:17 says, “the wisdom that is from above is first pure, and then peaceable.”

Now we come to what is, debatedly, the last beatitude, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” This is the top stone of our character pyramid. Peacemaking is thus seen by the Lord as the crowning achievement. Why? Because it is the very object of our enrollment in the school of Christ. We desire to be mediators. A mediator is a peacemaker whose job is to bring harmony between God and man or as Brother Russell so aptly phrased it, “the at-one-ment between God and man.” To make “at one” is to make whole, shalom, peace.

A student desiring to be a teacher must go through a course of student teaching. A doctor must go through residency. A mediator-to-be must go through a course of practice in mediating and peacemaking.

The promise to these is the ultimate promise, they shall be called “sons of God.” They not only see God but are his very sons.

In truth, there are two more beatitudes. However, they are different from the others. The first seven are things we must do. The last two, deal with things that are done to us. These are the fiery trials that crystallize the other seven elements of character.

• The first of these is found in Matthew 5:10. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” It is worth noting that these persecutions are for “righteousness’ sake.” The reason is that the darkness hateth the light and the unrighteous feel accused by the acts of the righteous.
• The last beatitude is “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you for my sake.” This persecution is not for righteousness’ sake, but for “my sake.” These are the persecutions of the sacrificing Christian that are part of the sin offering.

Joseph was a peacemaker. When convinced of his brothers’ sincerity, he harbored no revenge for their selling him into slavery but accepted them and embraced them as his brothers. He healed the rift that was between them. Their family was once again made whole. Shalom.

King David was a peacemaker when, after the death of King Saul, rivalry existed between the house of Saul and that of David’s supporters. David would have no part in it; rather he sought out Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, who had been hidden and protected by David’s brother-in-law, Machir, to specially honor him by giving him a place at the royal table. Thus began a healing process between the tribe of Benjamin and the tribe of Judah, both proclaiming David as their King. He healed the rift between the two tribes, making them whole again. Shalom.

Seven years later he was able to persuade the other ten tribes to join the union and make them whole as one nation. Shalom.

The Apostle Paul was a peacemaker. At the Council of Jerusalem, deciding the requirements for Gentiles to be accepted as Christians, a unanimous vote was made to adopt three requirements — sexual purity, abstinence from eating things strangled, or their blood. Yet Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:18-33 argues extensively that there is nothing wrong with eating any food. Paul compromised his preference in favor of peace. He sought to heal the rift that was developing between the disciples. He sought to make them whole. Shalom.

In more recent times, Abraham Lincoln was a peacemaker. In the 1850’s when he was running for governor of Illinois, an article appeared in the Springfield paper with a bitter attack on the character of his opponent. His opponent was irate and, convinced that either Lincoln or his wife had arranged for the story to appear, challenged Lincoln to a duel. As the one challenged, Lincoln had the choice of weapons. He chose the army long sword. With Lincoln’s 6’4” height and long arms, this gave him a decided advantage over his 5’9” opponent. His expressed desire was to disarm his opponent so that neither of them would be harmed. Sensing Lincoln’s advantage, the opponent quickly withdrew the challenge. So, they sat down and talked. Lincoln agreed that, even though he was not responsible for the article, he would write a letter to the editor proclaiming the sterling character of his opponent. From that day until Lincoln’s death, the two of them, although politically on opposite sides of the spectrum, became the best of friends.

We are told in Romans 14:19, “Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace … ” What things make for peace? There are several.

First, patience. We need the patience to be sure that there is a problem before trying to fix it. Often, we assume a problem exists, and by trying to fix it, actually cause the problem that we sought to fix.

Second, the hearing ear. Proverbs 18:13 says, “He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.” It is necessary in solving problems and bringing peace to listen to both sides. In such listening, one must be careful to interpret the words used in the way the speaker understands them and not as we would understand them. Dale Carnegie, in his book, How to Make Friends and Influence People, suggests wisely that we repeat the argument of another in our own words to see if we correctly understand his thoughts.

Third, a quiet voice. Arguments tend to rouse emotions. Emotions that have been roused tend to increase the volume of one’s voice, leading discussions into arguments and quarrels. The object of peacemaking is to pour the water of the Holy Spirit, not the troubled waters of inflamed emotions.

A fourth attribute is compassion, a mutual feeling for both sides. Each side holds the position it does because it believes that it is right. Peace may not exist necessarily by achieving agreement, but by obtaining the respect of each other for the reasons the other holds the position it does.

Let us look at the qualities of a good peacemaker. Perhaps the best example of a peacemaker in the Bible is that of the young man Elihu in the Book of Job. Elihu holds his peace until each of the three older, “miserable comforters” have had their say. Then he begins by admitting that, as a younger man, he needed to listen to their arguments first. Not only was he a younger man, but one of the three older men was his uncle. He says to the three in Job 33:6, “I am young in years, and you are very old; therefore I was afraid and dare not declare my opinion to you.”

However, after listening to them, he goes on to say that their arguments did not answer Job’s complaints. He says that they were all condemning Job and not listening to the possible validity of Job’s responses.

Then he turns to Job and delivers his thoughts. He prefaces his remarks with seven apologies — all marks of a good peacemaker.

1) Keep an upright heart — Job 33:3,4 says “My words come from an upright heart; my lips utter pure knowledge. The Spirit of God has made me and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” Any attempt at peacemaking must begin with this quality. An upright heart is one that has pure motives — a real desire to make peace.

2) Invite rebuttal — Job 33:5, “If you can answer me, set your words in order before me. Take your stand.” Elihu realized that Job, although he had not fully made his case and had overreacted to the virulence of his comforters’ charges, may have had a more reasoned-out defense for his words.

Once I had a discussion with a Christadelphian in which he wisely presented his rebuttal to my arguments with the phrase, “If I believe that, it will cause me this problem.” He did not say that I was wrong but invited me to further elaborate on my reasons, implying that what I said was not sufficient proof. Since then, I’ve tried to copy this tactic.

3) Do not meddle when uninvited — Job 33:6, “Behold, I am according to thy wish, in God’s ” If Elihu had not felt invited to be a part of the discussion, he would not have spoken. 1 Thessalonians 4:11 says, “ … study to be quiet, and to do your own business.” Proverbs 26:17 says, “He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.” Imagine the yelping! There was a book years ago called The Games People Play. One of the games was entitled “I have a problem, you fix it.”

4) Do not elevate yourself. The last half of Job 33:6 says, “I also am formed of clay.” The fact that we have an opinion as to what is right, does not prove that it is right. It is strictly our opinion of what is right. We also are fallible. This is a necessary attribute in the peacemaking process. We should not say, “You should believe this way or do this thing;” but rather, “My opinion is that this is the right belief or the right course of action.”

It is important to remember that each member of the body differs and is being prepared for its own unique place. For instance, my finger is well adapted to pointing something out or summoning someone, but I cannot do that with my nose. But my nose has a far better sense of smell than my finger.

Similarly, in Solomon’s temple, each stone was prepared in the quarry for its unique place. A threshold was not shaped to be a cornerstone and a cornerstone was not shaped to be part of a gateway. God recognizes beauty in diversity. Although the shape and functions may differ, they are all made with the same principles; and, when they are put together, they are one, they are whole. Shalom.

5) Be intent to lift up. Job 33:7, “Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid, neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee.” Elihu did not seek to put down Job as the three comforters did but assured him that he intended to lift Job up. We may feel strongly that someone is in the wrong, but our intent should not be to push them down further by condemning them but lift them up by correcting As Brother Newell used to say, “The sword of the spirit is not to be used as a club.” To correct another, “We must speak the truth, but we must speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15). This requires much tact. Brother Morehouse used to use the illustration that you don’t turn a ship around 180 degrees, but rather, by tacking, you slowly turn it until it goes in the opposite direction. Likewise, the peacemaker should not anticipate a sudden complete reversal of a wrong belief or conduct instantly but give it time.

6) Do not use hearsay evidence. Job 33:8 begins, “Surely you have spoken in my hearing, and I have heard your words saying … ” Elihu did not say, So-and-so told me you said, but “I have personally heard your ” It was an element of Roman jurisprudence for one to meet his accuser face-to-face. We read in Acts 25:16 “… It is not the manner of the Romans to deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused have the accusers face to face …” After Elihu states that Job has spoken in his hearing, he quotes certain words back to Job. In these quotations (Job 33:9-11) we see just how far Job’s comforters had pushed Job to make rash statements. These statements Job later apologizes for, when in Job 42:6, Job says to God “I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

7) Accuse the action and not the actor. In Job 33:12, Elihu says, “In this thou art not ” Notice that he does not say “Job, you are not just” or “Job you are a bad man.” These words are wrong. It is necessary that sin be condemned, and that righteousness be defended by every means possible. But a wrong act, a wrong word, or a wrong concept does not make a man wrong. We condemn the sin and not the sinner. Let us always remember that, “ … while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:7,8).

A good example of the peacemaking process is described by our Lord in a sermon found in Matthew chapter 18. Let us take a look at this sermon. It is occasioned by a question of the disciples “Who then is greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”

Jesus selects a small child, probably about 6-8 years old, and sets him up before them. He uses a child as a model for the Christian saying in verse 4 “Whoever humbles himself as this little child, is greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.” Then he goes on to say that anyone who hurts this child or anyone with such a childlike disposition will receive certain woes for his actions.

He follows on in verses 11-14 with the Parable of the Lost Sheep, emphasizing the desirability of especially seeking out the poor and afflicted and rejected of the world with special honors.

This brings us to the famous verses, 15-17, which began with the word “moreover,” connecting them to the previous verses.

Verse 15, “Moreover, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.”

In this step, it should be noted that the first approach is to the offending brother alone and not after having revealed his fault to others. Also note that if a brother offends “You,” not someone else. Let’s not play the game, “I have a problem, you fix it.” Additionally, it does not say, if your brother agrees with you, or apologizes or corrects his action; but it says if he hears you. In other words, if he is willing to discuss the situation. Often this is not the case. That brings us to step two.

Verse 16, “But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more that by the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established.”

The object of this hearing is to produce a discussion of the problem and not necessarily an instantaneous resolution.

Verse 17, the third step. “And if he refuse to hear them, tell it to the church; but if he refuse even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax-collector.”

Once again, the object is to get your brother to hear your accusation of his fault and presumably discuss it. If he does not hear the church, he is to be treated like a heathen and tax collector. How were heathens and tax collectors treated? It depends on who you are.

If you are a Pharisee, you cut them off, and refuse to deal with them. If you are Jesus, you have compassion and present kindly a better way. It is noteworthy that the word “disfellowship” does not appear in the scripture, in fact, it does not appear in the Bible. The concept does, but not here. At most, this text presents diminished fellowship. The concept of disfellowshipping is presented in 1 Corinthians 5 but for such a heinous sin of which even the Gentiles were not guilty. If the commentators are accurate, 2 Corinthians was written less than a year after 1 Corinthians. In that epistle, the Apostle Paul urges the church to admit the brother once again to full fellowship.

If you sprain an arm, you usually do not amputate it, but you bandage it and give it special loving care until it heals. You may not use it, but you take care of it. Likewise, if a member of the body of Christ becomes injured through his own fault, he is not to be amputated, but may be put on the shelf for a while and not used, but, during this period, is given special loving care to correct the problem.

In verses 18-20 Jesus says that the decision of the church is binding. And whatsoever is bound on earth shall be bound in heaven.

What did the disciples understand by all this? Peter interrupts with a very revealing question. He asks, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

In other words, Peter understood Jesus to be teaching a lesson in forgiveness and not a lesson of judgment. Peter did not even ask how long shall a brother sin against me and repent. He leaves out those last two words.

We all know Jesus’ answer. “I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” Then, for the balance of the chapter, he gives a parable of a king whose servant owed him a great deal of money, and at the debtor’s plea, the king forgave the debt. But the servant turned to another who owed him but a pittance and would not forgive him. The response of the king is harsh. He imprisoned the servant until he could pay the uttermost farthing.

In this chapter then we see that the process of going to your brother alone and then with two others and finally the church is for the purpose of reconciliation, to heal rifts, to make whole, Shalom.

So far dear brethren, we have looked at certain general principles regarding peace and peacemaking. Now I would like to get very specific.

We as Bible Students have many rifts that need healing and peacemaking. We have strong disagreements on such subjects as chronology, the 1000-year Kingdom reign, tentative justification, the importance of witnessing, the timing of the plagues, and many others. How do we seek peace in such a troublesome situation? Let me suggest several steps:

1) Look at our attitude. Do we really desire peace, or are we more interested in proving ourselves right and our brother wrong? This depends, of course, on the seriousness of the disagreement, whether the subject is an essential or non-essential; and here too we disagree. We each have our own evaluation of what is more important and what is less But, regardless of our evaluation, we should seek peace with those who differ with us.

2) Seek divine help. It is important for both sides in approaching a matter of dispute to sincerely seek the Lord’s help in In fact, it is often good to open a discussion on differences with an initial prayer.

3) Keep calm. Strong as may be our feelings on a certain matter, an elevated voice does nothing to arrive at a successful conclusion.

4) Listen. Often, we misunderstand the position of each other. We need to listen carefully to what the other believes and why he believes The object of our discussions should not be so much to convert a brother to our way of thinking, but rather to understand his reasons for what he believes. Only too often when our brother speaks we spend the time in framing our rebuttal rather than listening to his side of the story.

5) Use common language. Make sure that you are both using the same words with the same For instance, to one person restitution is limited to resurrection, while to another, myself included, it includes the destructive as well as the constructive phases of the Kingdom. If we understand how a brother uses language differently than we do, we may find our differences to be more semantic than real.

6) Seek the middle ground. Try to find a method of expression to which you can both agree, realizing that substance is more important than

7) Admit the validity of your brother’s arguments. Our goal is to search for truth, not defend our There is an absolute truth, but none of us have it. It is a goal, not a current reality. We all use Scriptures with our own interpretations. If we’re really honest, some of our interpretations are rather stretched. If our brother has a better interpretation, we must admit the validity of it even though it does not convince us of the whole of his argument.

8) Use the Bible. It is a natural tendency for us as Bible Students, because of our immense respect for Pastor Russell as that wise and faithful servant and as the seventh messenger, to seek to prove our points by quoting him. He would not have it In fact, he states in a 1911 discourse to pilgrims, elders, and deacons, that there is “entirely too much preaching of Pastor Russell and entirely too little of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Bible is the final authority and should be the basis of all arguments. We call the Six Volumes “keyes to the Scriptures.” And so, they are. How many of you have a key to your home? You use it each time you enter. And how many of you, after entering, sit down and say, what a beautiful key? The object of the key is to get you into your home. The object of the volumes is to get you into your Bible.

Do not be afraid of studying your Bible, and do not be afraid of studying the volumes. Both are necessary. The Bible and volumes together form a screen through which we filter out the bugs of error. The volumes are the Bible topically arranged and form the vertical lines of the screen. The Bible gives us the chronological context of the scriptures and treats all the texts, including those not referenced in the volumes. It forms the horizontal lines of our screen. Only a screen with both vertical and horizontal lines is effective in screening out the bugs of error.

9) Take time. Because truth is important to us, we look upon differences as And they may well be. But they are real, and they are firmly held. We should not expect our brother who has studiously arrived at a conclusion to change it quickly upon hearing our side of the story. We may have to agree to disagree. We are to, as Jude says, “contend for the faith.” But we are not to be contentious for the faith.

10) Settle the issue. If after discussing the matter with our brother we cannot come to an agreement, hopefully, we will understand his position better and why he holds it and therefore can be at peace with him. I have appreciated over the years working with our elder We have many different opinions, but we highly respect each other and recognize that each holds his opinion for what he considers valid, with scriptural reasons.

It is the thought of many that the Psalms of Degrees, Psalms 120-134, were written to be sung by pilgrims traveling from Galilee to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover. The second to the last of these would see the pilgrims topping the last hills before coming to the holy city. And as they saw other pilgrims coming from the east, west, and south they sang together, “How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.” As we brethren make our journey to the spiritual Jerusalem, let us dwell together in unity.

As the Apostle Paul says in Romans 12:18, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” Let us each strive that, at the end of our course, we would be pleased to have as an epitaph on our tombstone “I sought to be a peacemaker.” Only if we seek to be a peacemaker now, can we hope to be part of the Mediator, the Great Peacemaker, in the Kingdom. Let us strive to become one with each other, to once again become whole. Shalom.

–– Delivered by Br. Joe Megacz for Br. Carl Hagensick,
September 16, 2007 at his home ecclesia, Chicago Bible Students