Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. – Matthew 10:34
Sometimes the truth hurts, but it needs to be spoken. If someone has been ill for a long time because of unknown causes, they will not like receiving a diagnosis of some serious disease. But once the cause is known, treatments can begin.
In the passage today and the ones that follow, Jesus tells the people what to expect when they follow Him. His honesty cuts to the heart. Where you wanted only love and peace, you may have hatred and warfare. The Rabbinical Jews firmly believed that, when the day came that God would break into history and the Son of David would appear, families would be torn apart, daughter against mother, son against father, because some would believe and some would not (Matthew 10:35). The time they had been waiting for had come, but they refused to believe it.
Trials within the family would not be the only problems faced by followers of Christ. John Bunyan, born in 1628 and led to the Lord by his wife, became a preacher of the Word and was arrested and thrown into prison for preaching without having received permission from the established church. Although he could have bowed to authorities, he stood firm and retained his first loyalty to God and His truth. Though he and his family suffered when he was in prison, he blessed the world for centuries to come with his writing of The Pilgrim’s Progress.
You may be called to make a difficult choice. Make your loyalty to God your first priority, and the Lord will sustain you.
Kommentarer