He brought back his nephew Lot, together with Lot's possessions and the women and everyone else who had been captured.
". . . because I came to divide a man against his father and a daughter against her mother . . . "
We have a difficult time squaring the idea of building family, and the effect of Christ's work upon families, which apparently is to divide them.
We know, as we shall see later, that Paul hated divisions among people. He called them a "heresy."
So I think that we need to be aware of the natural forces among us, which drive us apart. This happens most intensely to families. When you see it happening, realize what is going on. Next, know that divisions are going to be expected, especially in families. Satan loves family quarrels.
Finally, make your work focused on building up families. Christ draws and divides people. But that can't be helped. His work is integrally to restore the lost, to reconnect families; to rescue them from slavery, as Abram did his nephew Lot.
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When the family is aligned with God's will, then all is well. When there is a disagreement, then the Christian must be on God's side, even if that means "division." How many times have we seen families circle the wagons to defend the family in opposition to what is right, or worse yet by disobeying God to save "family face?"
ReplyDeleteIndeed. This is where it goes awry. The family that lives out "My family, right or wrong" only makes things worse in the long run. Those kinds of division take a long time to heal. But consider - expressing Christ's love, beginning with family, may drive some away when it comes to doing what's right. But in the end they will realize that your door is always open to them, that they will always belong, any time they want to return (and repent), because they are family. The Prodigal Son is an instructive lesson.
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