Division

Luke 12:51-53 (NIV)

51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 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 and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

During these unsettling times we might pause to remember that division is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it is essential in changing the old man into the new man in Christ. Jesus brought division to the earth in order to find a suitable companion to sit with Him when the kingdom of God is established with His throne in Jerusalem. This will be the Bride of Christ. 

The division that Jesus brings into the world is the separation between light and darkness that begins in Genesis when the light of God is spoken into the darkness of man. Jesus is the light of the world. He is the word for all mankind and the sword of truth whose blade divides into the marrow of man. Heaven and earth collide as the Lord seeks to draw a people to His light. Many will be called, but few will come. His words will be too hard for some, and many will turn away. 

The call to be holy is the call to be separated unto God. This separation will engender conflict and disagreement. This is the power of the gospel and the call of God for us to come out of Egypt, the world and the ways of man. We are to follow Him and trust in the Lord. He calls us to a different place and into a new creation.