Mark 3:23-27 (The Message)
"Jesus confronted their slander with a story: 'Does it make sense to send a devil to catch a devil, to use Satan to get rid of Satan? A constantly squabbling family disintegrates. If Satan were fighting Satan, there soon wouldn't be any Satan left." Do you think it's possible in broad daylight to enter the house of an awake, able-bodied man and walk off with his possessions unless you tie him up first? Tie him up, though, and you can clean him out."
Jesus' stories, meant to clarify the issue, sometimes only cause more confusion. I thought I understood the gist of this one until I just typed it again. It seems if we want to get rid of Satan, then Jesus just said that we should fight fire with fire....and the religious leaders just accused Jesus of being fire.
So today I'll devote myself to verse 24: "A constantly squabbling family disintegrates." Or...as we have heard it put so often, "United we stand, divided we fall." "You can't compete against yourself."
The first image that came to my mind as I read this was the upcoming General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. All the material of controversy and dissension that I have been studying which will come before the assembly in three weeks. Are we a squabbling family as a church? How far can you go with "I agree to disagree"? Our denominational team will present a much stronger face to the world, make a bigger impact for Christ, if we can work together. May God grant me a listening and compassionate heart so I can serve as a good teammate as we together seek the Kingdom of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment