When Jesus walked on this earth, He did a ton of amazing miracles. He gave sight to the blind, healed the leper, raised the dead, and cast out demons to name a very few. Not one of us today, even with all of our advanced technology or billions of dollars can duplicate what He did.
You’d think people of His day would have been in awe of the changes He brought to so many broken people. But their faith in Him was fickle. And the religious leaders hated Him when He cast out demons, claiming He had done so by the power of satan, the prince of demons.
Jesus answered them with these words:
“How can Satan cast out Satan?And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished!”
Have you ever built a house of cards? A sand castle? One strong wind or incoming tide wipes them out. That’s kind of the picture of what happens when a house is divided. That house, that kingdom, even that church cannot last as long as it remains divided against itself.
I’ve seen a lot of divided families and even divided churches during my lifetime. People who once loved each other suddenly take opposing sides on various and sundry issues, and they let those things bring strife. Or maybe they just grow into people who enjoy causing turmoil. God is not a fan of strife but of peace. His peace.
We live in a world where we say we want peace, but there is no peace. Not really. There is only peace if you and I agree on things. Or can compassionately agree to disagree…And still love and be kind to each other.
When we aren’t kind and understanding, however, hearts that once held compassion grow cold and hardened against people they used to love. When division slips into a household, a church, a friendship, a nation…if it goes unchecked and undiscussed with reconciliation in mind, it only gets worse.
Sometimes it enters through hurt or anger or bitterness or shame, but however it comes, it will destroy us and our families and our friendships and our world. If we refuse to let go, admit wrong, forgive hurts, and find common ground, how do we expect to ever be able to live in peace with each other? Scripture also tells us that as far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people. We need to be peacemakers in this broken world.
Kingdoms divided against themselves also cannot stand. Have we forgotten our history? The Civil War nearly destroyed us then. Other nations have fallen when they crumble from within. We don’t want to be like them, do we?
I don’t know how you voted in this recent election, and the truth is, I don’t want to know. My prayer through it all has been for righteousness to rule our land and for God’s will to be done. I hope that is your prayer as well. Because when we give up what God calls righteous, we end up like the people of ancient Israel when everyone did what was “right in their own eyes.”
If we have no standard we follow, no truth to claim that we apply to our homes, our nation, our world, then we become a house divided. We fight against the very people we are meant to love as ourselves. Jesus also said:
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” Our neighbor is anyone that isn’t us. Jesus didn’t mean simply the person who lives in the house next door. He showed that even mortal enemies (Jews and Samaritans) could still show love to one another.
But before we can love our neighbor and bring this divided house into some form of unity, we have to follow the first commandment. Love your neighbor is the second one. The first and most important is:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and all your strength.” If we kept only these two greatest commandments, our houses, our nations, our relationships would not be divided against themselves.
I’ve been pondering what loving God with all of my heart looks like. And I am not sure I will ever be able to answer that fully in my lifetime. Do I love God? Yes. But Jesus also said that the one who has been forgiven much, loves much. When you come to faith as a child, it can be harder to recognize your own sin. Then again, even believers who come as children need humility and forgiveness throughout life. David learned that lesson hard. Perhaps because God forgave his adultery and murder, he loved God more later in life than he had in the beginning. Later in life, we tend to see more clearly. We know how far from God’s mark we have fallen.
Divided homes are painful. Divided nations are painful too. Anger replaces grace. Instead of being peacemakers and listen to each other and forgive each other, we vilify each other – we don’t live at peace with all people. That sounds rather hopeless, doesn’t it?
But there is still hope. Hope may seem to hang by a thread sometimes, but the hope that comes from God is strong. And if we could humble ourselves and come together with understanding and compassion and discernment, and a willingness to listen to the God who made us, things could change. God is still sovereign and He still hears prayer. Maybe instead of a march against this or that issue, we could use some serious time in prayer. Those who pray together have a harder time hating each other.
I don’t know how this election is going to end. I didn’t expect 2020 to be what it became. And I could offer you my thoughts, but the only words that matter, the only wisdom that can make lasting change doesn’t come from me. It comes from God.
We all make errors in judgment. We all jump to conclusions. We could all have said this or that better than we did. I know I could. You too?
Isn’t it possible that we are all in need of some humility and a heart check? Do we really want to remain a house divided, a nation divided against itself? Do we want to risk seeing things crumble around us? Or do we want to see some unity—a middle ground—to care for our neighbor whether we agree with him or not?
I’ll always pray for God’s righteousness to rule on this earth. But the only way that will happen is if He first rules in the hearts of men and women. There is so much hope when we learn what it means to truly love Him.
~Selah
#livegrace #ahousedivided #livetruth #peacemakers #lovegodfirst #loveyourneighbornext #pray
