Skip to main content

253. The Divisiveness of Christ's Call

Key Verse: "Do you think I came to bring peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but division."
Luke 12:51

We can see in this passage how frustrated God is with evil. Yet, we also see how patient He is to do what must be done, in the proper order, to conquer evil fully and completely. When we began this journey, and looked at the first sin that brought evil into the world, we said that God was faced with a choice. He could take what had been broken and sweep it into the garbage, or painstakingly put the pieces together again to make the creation whole. If God had taken the first choice and began over again, what would have prevented Satan from just destroying that creation as well, creating a cycle of frustration for God of creation and destruction? We said that God obviously made a different choice because of love.

Today, Jesus says, "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!" (Luke 12:49-50) If the fire were to come before Jesus had provided a means of escape through His death and resurrection, it would have been no different than destroying creation at the beginning. Christ first had to provide a means of escape for those who choose to follow Him, to rescue them and separate them from the evil around them.

Paul says: "Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." (Romans 6:3-4)

That is how the division comes. We who have been made alive in Christ have become separated from those who are still dead in their sin. We do not get to heaven based on our family ties. We do not get to heaven based on our behavior. The only way to the Father is through Jesus Christ, taking on His death and being raised with him to new life. When you become a Christian, you become separated from those around you who are not. That's why it is so essential that all of us work to bring our loved ones to Christ. We must see ourselves on a rescue mission, bringing others to the throne of grace to receive the new life that He offers so that we can not only reign with Him, but live with them forever.

He is the dividing line yes, because He cannot live with evil. In love, however, He is also the way through the division for all who will receive and follow His lead.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

211. The Sons of Thunder's Request

Matthew 20:20-28 , Mark 10:35-45 , Key verse: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43B-44 In our readings for yesterday, in which Jesus outlined what was about to happen to Him, for His disciples, the passage in Luke ends: "The disciples did not understand any of this. It's meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about." ( Luke 18:34 ) Now, we see just how truly clueless they were. Jesus had laid out a plan before them of pain and suffering and death and now James and John are focused on a promotion. The disconnect is so obvious. It's really not important to know whether James and john came up with this request on their own or if their mother put them up to it. The request was made and James and John thought that they could handle the responsibility that would come with it. What is that saying, "Fools rush in where angels fe...

These Boots are Made for Walking

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-15 These Boots are Made for Walking. Of course, I picked that title because it has a reference to popular culture, and it connects with our text today about “feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” I was tempted to play the video of that song, but it’s really not amenable to worship. If you remember that old song, it was quite confrontational. The singer had a righteous complaint against a boyfriend or spouse who was cheating on her. She’s not going to put up with that, and the song goes on to say, “One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you!” And that “take a stand” bravado made her a hero! It was a #1 hit in 1966. I mention it because it has one interesting parallel and one major contrast with the message of grace and forgiveness. That parallel is this. God has a righteous complaint against the entire human race for cheating Him out of the loving relationship He desires with us. As the God who created us, he h...

186. Ten Healed, Or One?

Luke 17:11-19 Key Verse: Then He said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." Luke 17:19 At last, Jesus has left the crowd behind and again is continuing His journey toward Jerusalem. His path takes Him and His disciples along the border of Judea and Samaria, between the pure Jews, and the hated half breeds of the day. On His way, Jesus encounters an interesting group of people. We only learn the nationality of one of them and, though we don't know the nationality of the others, because Jesus sends them to the priests in Jerusalem we can probably assume that at least some of them are Jews. Isn't it interesting that through leprosy, a disease that causes much suffering, the dividing wall of hatred has come down for the sake of companionship? We encountered one leper earlier on our Journey. Lepers were the dreaded untouchables of the day. Their disease cut them off from all they loved. It was a very lonely life. No wonder these people had ...