Because of Jesus
Matthew 10:21-23 “Brother
will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel
against their parents and have them put to death. 22 All men will hate you
because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23 When you are
persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not
finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”
WAIT! Don’t close your email yet. I know this sounds very
scary. Trouble to the death seems to be Jesus’ legacy to his followers. How can
such conflict appeal to anyone? Very few of us seek out conflict and most of us
avoid it at all costs—even the cost of our faith.
That is Jesus’
point. In the verses of the past few days, Jesus’ teachings have focused on the
great conflicts that come when we speak the Gospel into the world. There is no
peace or rest for the faithful Christian who fully engages with God.
Engaged with Jesus’
Gospel is to engage in conflict. That sounds contrary to the peace Jesus offers.
But true eternal peace only happens when you work through the conflict that occurs
in every Gospel conversation. Sometimes the conflict is in a shrug. Sometimes
it’s, “Be quiet!” Sometimes it’s silence. Sometimes it’s getting up and
leaving. Often it is simply ignoring you. And we know today that Jesus’ promise
of severe conflict is true for many people who try to speak Christ to their
families and friends. They immediately become deadly enemies of their parents,
children and friends.
But eternally that
is better than having God as your enemy. Preferring peace to speaking the
Gospel, we will hear Jesus say, “I never knew you.”
(Matt 7:22)
LIFE Link: Peace requires conflict.
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