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Fire! Division! Decision! - Luke 12:49-53

Jesus continued speaking: "I came to bring fire to the world. I wish it were already burning! I must be baptized with a {different kind of} baptism. I feel very troubled until it is finished. Do you think that I came to give peace to the world? No! I came to divide the world! From now on, a family with five people will be divided, three against two, and two against three. A father and son will be divided: The son will be against his father. The father will be against his son. A mother and her daughter will be divided: The daughter will be against her mother. The mother will be against her daughter. A mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law will be divided: The daughter-in-law will be against her mother-in-law. The mother-in-law will be against her daughter-in-law." (ERV) Full Text

Key Thought

Jesus demonstrates God's love in so many ways during his earthly ministry. He will accomplish an incredible blessing of love when he comes to take God's children home to be with him forever. However, the cost of those blessings is high—high for him, high for God, and high for those who follow him. Jesus left heaven, came to earth, and died a horrible death to provide these blessings. God withheld his power and allowed those he created to do such horrid things to his Son. So we must not be surprised at the powerful language Jesus uses here. His ministry calls for a decision, a radical decision, to be made. He is either God with us or he is an impostor. He is either Christ, God's Messiah and our Savior, or he is delusional. He is either Lord, King of our hearts and of all creation, or he is a liar. Making this decision is divisive. It will divide families and households. It will be politically incorrect because it doesn't allow for alternatives. As Jesus speaks to his disciples, he also speaks to us. If we decide for him, our decision will not make everyone happy and won't lead to everyone's liking us. A passionate disciple of Jesus will not be appreciated by all ... maybe not by most!


Today's Prayer

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Father, please give me the courage to fully decide to follow Jesus. Then, dear Father, please give me the wisdom to know how to deal lovingly with those who cannot accept my decision, my passion, and my discipleship. In Jesus' name. Amen.


Today's Verses in Context


Jesus continued speaking: "I came to bring fire to the world. I wish it were already burning! I must be baptized with a {different kind of} baptism. I feel very troubled until it is finished. Do you think that I came to give peace to the world? No! I came to divide the world! From now on, a family with five people will be divided, three against two, and two against three. A father and son will be divided: The son will be against his father. The father will be against his son. A mother and her daughter will be divided: The daughter will be against her mother. The mother will be against her daughter. A mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law will be divided: The daughter-in-law will be against her mother-in-law. The mother-in-law will be against her daughter-in-law." Then Jesus said to the people, "When you see clouds growing bigger in the west, you say, 'A rainstorm is coming.' And soon it begins to rain. When you feel the wind begin to blow from the south, you say, 'It will be a hot day.' And you are right. You hypocrites ! You can understand the weather. Why don't you understand what is happening now? "Why can't you decide for yourselves what is right? Suppose a person is suing you, and you are going with him to court. You should try hard to settle it on the way. If you don't settle it, he may take you to the judge. And the judge will throw you into jail. You will not get out of there until you have paid every cent of what you owe."

— Luke 12:49-59 (ERV)

 

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What Jesus Did
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In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus. Christ himself was like God in everything. Christ was equal with God. But Christ did not think that being equal with God was something that he must keep. He gave up his place with God and agreed to be like a servant. He was born to be a man and became like a servant. And when he was living as a man, he humbled himself by being fully obedient to God. He obeyed even when that caused him to die. And he died on a cross. Christ obeyed God, so God raised Christ to the most important place. God made the name of Christ greater than every other name. God did this because he wants every person to bow for the name of Jesus. Every person in heaven, on the earth, and under the earth will bow. Every person will confess (say), "Jesus Christ is Lord (Master)." When they say this, it will bring glory to God the Father. —Philippians 2:5-11 (ERV)

"If the world hates you, remember that the world hated me first. —John 15:18 (ERV)

Brothers and sisters, don't be surprised when the people of this world hate you. —1 John 3:13 (ERV)