Devotional #25               

A Sword of Separation

Some people find discomfort reading some of the strong and seemingly abrupt things that Jesus said in scripture. That is because there’s a misconception of Christ and Christians as always having to be “nice!” Once, “(while Jesus) was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.” But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” Side note, the Bible said that Christ never sinned, therefore God the Father approved of even the sayings and actions of Jesus that some of us might have trouble accepting! As believers, our families, even if they know the Lord, can be a stumbling block to us remaining in God’s will. Satan, you will find, will use anything or anyone to hinder you from reaching your maximum potential in Christ. Familial obligations, family expectations, and standing traditions can be Satan’s tools used to keep us out of God’s particular plan for us.

 Another disciple of Christ, when called by Jesus to follow Him, said to our Redeemer, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” If you didn’t know that these verses were in scripture, would you be surprised that our Lord spurned his own mother and siblings and actually suggested that someone should miss his own father’s funeral?

I don’t believe that this is always the case, it is more so the exception. After all, the commandment says that we are to honor our parents. We see on one occasion Jesus attended a wedding with his mother and helped at her request. When He was told that his family wanted to speak with Him that particular day, I believe He recognized that specifically as the voice of Satan, trying to keep Him from His God given task of speaking with those multitudes. Shame on Mary and his siblings if they had insisted on seeing him in that moment and thereby becoming a hindrance to God's plan that day. Furthermore, that man to whom Christ said, “let the dead bury their own dead,” spoke to the fact that there was only death for this man amongst his family, thus keeping him from the abundant life that Christ was offering him!

2 Corinthians 6:14 says, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?

In Matthew 10:34-39, Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’  He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

            Though the Lord’s perfect will is true peace and reconciliation for people, between themselves and with Him, there are occasions where the Lord calls us to lay down even our family or closest friends on His altar. This for some is for a short time, and for others might be for good! Most of my married life (for about 15 years) I was estranged from my parents and siblings. After some time, the Holy Spirit moved on my heart to reconnect. What a joy when God brings restoration! I thank Him for it! Now, what about you? Does your family create an atmosphere that draws you to the Lord and His plan and purposes for you, or further away from Him? Do your dearest friends stop you from reaching your fullest potential in Christ? Are you truly ready to leave everyone and everything for God, if you had to do so? 

See It for Yourself: Matthew 12:46-50, 8:21-22, 10:34-39, 19:29, Mark 9:43-44, 2 Corinthians 6:14

Prayer Focus:

Dear Lord,

You said that “…everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for (Your) name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.” Help me to forsake everything or anyone that keeps me from You, even as your Father forsook you, as you bore the punishment for my crimes on the cross. Let Your voice, Lord, trump the other voices that I hold so dear!

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen.

Working It Out: 

Jesus said, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched…” As extreme as that sounds, are you ready to separate even from family, or dear friends, if God so leads? Can you truly give up all for Him?