No Peace from the Prince of Peace?
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 what constraint I am under until it is completed! Do you think I cam to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. Form 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 and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law” (Luke 12: 49-53, TNIV).
How many times have I wondered about how this could be with Jesus being the Prince of Peace. The more I thought about it the more ridiculous it all seems. But then I started thinking about the life of Jesus. He ate with Tax collectors and sinners. His love for the unlovable, the unpopular, the misfits and outcasts got him in deep water with the religious leaders of his time.
Love will be the dividing line. Loving someone that is disapproved of by our family or loved ones can create a rift in our family relationships.
The way I imagine this working is if a family member is killed and I go to great lengths to love and forgive the offense. What would happen if I were to bring the murderer home for dinner? How would my family react?
Imagine trying to love a terrorist? Perhaps that is the same thing as a whiter person loving a black person in the 40’s or 50’s.
The division, I believe, will be because we are called to love the people others are comfortable hating.
What do you think?