Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 268

September 25;   Luke 12:51;   56/260(II);   ‘Initial Division’

Luke 12:51 Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.

When you first read this verse, you have to wonder is this Jesus speaking?  “I thought He came to make us all one.”  Yes it was Jesus speaking and He surely does desire to see all of us saved and loving each other.  What Jesus was saying is that the salvation of a family has to start somewhere.  A member of a family becomes Born Again.  Quite often, when that happens, the initial reaction is not good.  Statements like, “Our religion is not good enough for you?,” are very common.  That is alright.  Christianity can stand on its own merits.  If a new Christian will walk in love with the family and not be offended or retaliate when snide remarks are made, the Lord can begin to do His work in that family through that Christian.  As the new believer learns the Word of God and begins to look for opportunities to be a blessing, to pray for situations and to share a scripture kindly when appropriate, the Holy Spirit will begin to work on the other family members as they see the very noticeable change in the one who is saved.  This is where the Christian in the family has to be committed to seeing his or her family members saved.  That means manifesting the character and nature of Jesus at all times.  That means that you, as the Christian, have to be faithful to things like church attendance, keeping your word, being a blessing any way that you can be.  The disciplined lifestyle of the Christian member of the family, will play a huge part in the rest of the family getting saved.  If this is done, very soon the family will see that what the Christian has is real, their changed life will draw the others to Jesus.