The Other Jesus, Part 3, Week 2, Day 5
by David Joynt on August 02, 2018
Stress Test Devotional April 27
April 27, 2024
LUKE 12:53
“They will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
If family is a God-ordained partner with the community of faith, why does loyalty to Jesus sometimes create division within families? In Jesus’ own life, his acts of love and mercy, and his truth teachings, engendered decisions for or against him. In the same way now, Christian life and mission both unites and divides. No institution has done more to unite the world than the church, and Christianity is the only genuinely global and cross-cultural faith. But Christian faith also divides. Hostility, persecution, opposition—they follow faith wherever it goes. God prefers loyal discipleship and real mission to the false peace created when our faith is muted or distorted.
PRAYER
Gracious God, opposition with or beyond our families does not mean that we are unfaithful, or your mission is unfruitful. But grant us the wisdom to respond to hostility or indifference in gracious ways that allow others to reconsider their stances and re-evaluate their opposition. Help us not to be defensive when we defend our faith. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
