www.truthworks.com                 15 Feb 06                 devotion archive

Division

I tell you the Truth,

When I was a kid my dad always said there were two kinds of people in this world.  There were Ford people and there were Chevy people.  There was no mistake about it – you had to be one or the other.  In our house, we were Chevy people.  If it wasn’t made by General Motors, you wouldn’t find it in our driveway.  If you owned a Ford, my dad just thought you suffered from “auto ignorance.”

It’s funny how we create divisions in our society.  However, as funny as it is, it’s true.  We divide ourselves by color, by income, by age, by sex, by politics, by where we live, by what we wear, by our school, by what we watch on TV, by what sports team we follow and even, heaven forbid, by denomination.  We’ve been bisected, dissected and intersected.

And there seems to be no way around most of the division.  I mean, please, don’t expect me to raise my children to cheer for the New York Yankees.  After all, people who cheer for the Yankees obviously suffer from “baseball ignorance.”  (I say this just to see if my brother is reading ;-)

So how should we handle division?  Is it important to even be concerned about?  I personally believe it’s extremely important.

In Matthew, we find that Jesus was driving out demons and the Pharisees accuse him of being a demon himself.  And Jesus responds with truth and logic.

Matthew 12:
25Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?"

Jesus made it very clear that a house divided can not stand.  So division in the household, in the city or in the kingdom spells ruin.  Paul also warns about division:

1 Corinthians 1:
10I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.

Division has been a real problem since the beginnings of the church.  Paul appeals, or pleads with the church to be united.

The Bible seems pretty clear on division, doesn’t it?  I mean, shouldn’t we all be completely united, totally bonded as one?  Well, some people would lead us to believe that very thing.  While there is danger in division, there is also danger in unity.

Luke 12:
51"Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53They 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."

OK.  So now I’m really confused.  I need to seek unity, but I also need to expect division?  The Prince of Peace came to divide us?

So it seems.  To be honest there is a need for division and there is a need for unity.  We are to be in the world, but not of the world.  I believe the key is this:  We need unity in the Spirit, but not unity in the world.

Ephesians 4:
1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

The question now is this – what is unity of the Spirit?  How can we be unified, yet divided?  We’ll examine that very issue next time.

Your Servant,

Randy Hunt
randy@truthworks.com
2TIM 1:7

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Copyright © 2006 Truth Works Publishing. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise specified, all scripture quotations taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV.
Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
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