1993
By J. Rob Hutto
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
(Matthew 10:34, 35)
There has been a great deal of uncertainty recently concerning the "state of the ark", or the condition of the church. Many things have happened that have caused some to wonder if we are still the Church of God of the Bible. Some have been so upset that they have left the church altogether. This has caused still further uneasiness. Some have been concerned about the lack of unity that seems to exist among our members. They perhaps wonder how we can preach unity in the face of so much discord.
I have experienced some turmoil in my ministry in the last two to three years. Most of my early ministry was spent preaching what I though people wanted to hear. I was liked and accepted. As long as I preached the American dream for the church, I fit right in. "Work hard, be successful" was the guiding theme of my ministry. I thought that as long as we visited more or worked harder we would grow. As a result of this message I was accepted quite well by my listeners. The only problem was, though I was honest-hearted enough, I was wrong!
But then something began to happen. First, I started to realize that I wasn't preaching about Jesus at all. Then I began to understand that I wasn't to work FOR God. Whom I thought was a million miles away. I began to realize I was to work WITH Him (1 Corinthians 3:9), and indeed, the work was to only be done as He works THROUGH me (Colossians 1:27; Galatians 2:20).
Guess what! When I began to preach this new understanding (new to me, but as old as the Word), I started having to deal with disagreement on a fairly regular basis. At first, I was troubled by this lack of agreement from others, but I have recently come to realize that this division is actually a fulfillment of Matthew 10:34, 35.
Whenever reliance on Christ is preached, it rocks our tradition. We sometimes find ourselves feeling threatened, afraid to afraid to let old, safe ways give way to greater understanding and more truth. Certainly there are many other reasons why division occurs, and some of these reasons are not good. However, when we try to let Christ be the Head of the church, we will undoubtedly face disunity that can lead to disruption.
Perhaps we should consider the split that took place, apparently in the church, while Jesus was still on the earth. On this particular occasion, Jesus told His followers to "eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood." (John 6:53; 22-71) People who had followed Christ now failed to see that He was referring to a Spiritual interaction. They failed to understand that He was trying to teach them about the Divine relationship that was necessary in order for them to be truly alive and truly effective as a church.
What happened? "From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him." (John 6:66) How many were left? We only know for sure that twelve stayed. Why did they stay? Jesus asked them if they were leaving. too, and Peter's response gives us a clue. His response shows that they knew Christ, they knew His words were the words of eternal life, and they understood that His way was perfect.
If Christ moves differently from what we expect, let us consider that He is still Christ. His way is perfect. He knows where we are going what He is doing. Regardless of what happens, let's trust Christ. Let's not let division cause us to be discouraged. Don't give up! Don't leave! Just "wait on the Lord." (Isaiah 40:31)