Luke 12:49…

Usually, we think of anything which brings division as being harmful to the church. We are taught to desire unity in all things pertaining to Jesus Christ and His church.

In fact, in Proverbs 6:16-19 that God hates a divisive spirit. The final statement in that passage reads that “God hates…one who sows discord among brethren.”

How interesting Jesus concludes His teaching in Luke 12 by speaking about the fact He has come to bring division on the earth. (V51)

In fact, division is necessary to bring about true unity, rather than that which is false. That which is false may have the appearance of unity, but is most divided of all.

Remembering Jesus began this teaching with a divisive statement back in Luke 11, which was basically, “…you are either for Me or against Me.” The strength of this statement is it tells us there is no middle ground when it comes to Jesus Christ. You must stand with Christ, publically, personally, and philosophically in all things and in all ways – or else you are against Him.

All those WITH Christ are in unity. Those who are either fake or against Christ are identified in order to preserve the unity of those who are with Christ.

This is the “fire” Jesus speaks of in Luke 12:49. It is a ‘fire’ of judgment and/or persecution which burns away the chaff, the false, and the hateful, lazy, and the undermining. It is a purifying fire which burns away all those who come by pretense, or by feigning some sort of religious purity and piety.

Those who are with Christ are with Christ because they KNOW they are sinners in need of a Savior – and they know ONLY Jesus saves them from their sin. In a very real sense, they are desperate people. They are not ‘good’ people, and they are certainly no better than those who oppose Christ – but they have given their heart to Jesus, and they have lovingly submitted to His Lordship in every arena of life – while looking forward to eternal life with Jesus in His kingdom.

The price will be and always has been high to live with this kind of personal devotion to Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ time, they knew to follow Christ would cost them everything. Why should we think ourselves different?

-Pastor Bill