"Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."
Choosing to follow Jesus will split some families. One of the greatest hindrances to the gospel in rural America is the family. Families get more committed to each other than they are to Jesus. I see people struggling with this choice almost weekly. The hard truth is that we must all follow Jesus even if it cuts into our most intimate relationships.
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Sometimes Jesus brings great peace and unity. Sometimes Jesus brings a sword. Sometimes Jesus draws people together, but sometimes he divides and disrupts.
Families can bring the greatest blessings and the deepest love, but, God’s claim for faithfulness and loyalty may clash with a family’s claim for faithfulness and loyalty. God’s claim upon us may put us at odds with all that we love and value, be it family, or creature comforts, or the predictable status quo. We are known by those things that we love, and loving Jesus may bring a rearrangement of loves to our lives.
This disturbing message from Jesus does not give us an unquestioned reinforcement of family unity. It does not suggest that the sticking together of families automatically reflects
faithfulness, nor does it mean that by family solidarity all of the injustices of the world will
be solved. Instead, Jesus questions a blind idolatry of the family and warns that becoming his disciple may very well divide rather than unite the home and one’s closest relationships.
In the end, it comes down to letting go of fear in order to follow Jesus faithfully. Those things that are known, those things that seem dependable, those things that are so very valuable, may be those very things that you are most afraid of losing. It is that fear that is holding you back from moving ahead to do what God urges you to do, and it is that fear that needs to be turned into trust in God, and this is not done without much
turmoil.
When there is division within a family all we have to do is to let go of fear, and trust God to walk
with us through this unthinkable time in order to reach a point of unconditional love that says, “I don’t always understand you, but I don’t have to understand you to love you.”
May God lead us in paths of faithfulness and love. May God lead us to a place of trust so that we can let go of our fears of loss and put our love of God above everything else.
Everything. Amen.
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