From everyone who has been given much, much will be required.

Luke 12:48-59 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

⁴⁹ “I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled! ⁵⁰ But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! ⁵¹ Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; ⁵² for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. ⁵³ They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

⁵⁴ And He was also saying to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming,’ and so it turns out. ⁵⁵ And when you see a south wind blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it turns out that way. ⁵⁶ You hypocrites! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why do you not analyze this present time?

⁵⁷ “And why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right? ⁵⁸ For while you are going with your opponent to appear before the magistrate, on your way there make an effort to settle with him, so that he may not drag you before the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. ⁵⁹ I say to you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the very last cent.”

In today’s text Jesus says: “Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; ⁵² for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three. ⁵³ They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”   Should we be surprised then if there is division in the world, if there is a resistance to and even a persecution of the Christian faith and faithful?  In John 15:18-20 Jesus says:  “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.”

It should not come as a surprise that those who do not believe will reject and even persecute Jesus followers. The world may say it is because of hypocrisy that they reject Christians, and it is true there are hypocrites who are Christians, but Jesus says the world will hate believers even if they are just like Him. He says:    “because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.”     So it is no longer a question of whether there will be division between believers and unbelievers, nor does it really matter to those who believe why the world says that division exists. Our commission as believers, our mission is to be like Christ. It is not to be concerned about what might offend people. We are to love people, all people. Jesus says: But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you (Matthew 5:44)       We do not love them so that they love us in return. That is a human motivation for love. Our concern should not, cannot be with whether the world will love us. We should never compromise who we are in Christ, what we believe about Christ or what the word of God says. If we make our priority to be loved and accepted by the world, through tolerance and inclusion rather than through a self sacrificing love that does not concern itself with being loved in return, we risk becoming an enemy of God.

James 4:4-8 says: You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? ⁶ But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” ⁷ Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.      The answer for believers is not that we should participate with, tolerate or condone sinful behavior or beliefs, in order to win the love and acceptance of unbelievers. It is true, Jesus did associate with sinners. But really who else is there? After all:  There is no one who does good. ² God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there is anyone who understands, Who seeks after God. ³ Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one. (Psalm 53:1-3) If Jesus would not have associated with sinners He would have had to remain alone. Jesus came though not to tolerate and condone sin. Jesus did not redeem sin on the cross. Jesus through the finished work of the cross redeemed sinners from their sin. He reconciles people to God and restores them to what God intended, that they be like God, created in His image and likeness. God says: “you are to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy” (Leviticus 20:26) God has not changed His mind, relaxed His standards of sin and righteousness to include sinners into His family. God sent Jesus to redeem sinners from sin, that through the finished work of the cross we might indeed be holy, redeemed, reconciled and restored in and through Christ.    

 Jesus did associate with and interact with sinners as they were, but His message was not that they continue in their sin. To think that Jesus tolerated and condoned sin is an affront to the cross and the sacrifice He made for sinners. Jesus message to sinners was: “repent”; “go and sin no more” His words from the cross were: "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)     We too are to forgive sinners of their sins. Jesus says:  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16) It is our light, the light of Christ in us, not our tolerance and inclusion of their sin that will cause people to glorify the Father.

Our concern is not what people think of us. It is that they might see Jesus. Hebrews 12:14 says:  Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.  The world may reject us, even hate us. That is not what is important. They hated and rejected Jesus too. We are to live as light, to love, to show mercy and grace, to forgive, to pursue peace and holiness, that they might see the Lord.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, I have indeed been given much. May I indeed through the finished work of the cross and the power of the Holy Spirit live at peace with all men. May others truly see the light of Christ and His holiness in me. May I, like Jesus, love sinners and hate sin. May I not concern myself with what others think of me but with what You see in me, because of what Jesus did for me. May I love, show grace and mercy, may I forgive as I have been forgiven and may I speak the truth, Your truth, in love.  Amen.