God’s Word Divides – August 17, 2025
One key truth: Jesus didn’t come to bring worldly peace but to divide darkness from light, sin from righteousness. His presence calls for a choice—between the world and God.
“I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They 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.”
Luke 12:49-53
God’s Word Divides
It doesn’t take much looking around to see that Jesus divides people. Maybe it’s the vibe in the community you live in, your family, or a friend who doesn’t see Jesus the same way you do. There seems to be a great chasm between you and others when it comes to Jesus.
Jesus even said he didn’t come to bring peace—but to cause division. Wait, what?! Isn’t Jesus supposed to be about love and unity? The division that Jesus is causing in this world is dividing the “old me” (the part of me that wants to sin) from the “new me” (the part he’s making new and holy). He’s separating us from the lies of Satan and covering us in his robes of righteousness. John 1:1-5 tells us that Jesus understands the world and its sinfulness. He was there in the beginning. He knows the history of the world. He knows how dark and broken it is. And he knows exactly what his mission from the Father was: to bring peace to people by dividing us from the darkness. He brought us into his light through his death and resurrection. Jesus is the light, and “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). Take a second to think about the division of Christianity from the way the world thinks. What makes you stand out as a Christian that the world might not understand?
Jesus was constantly doing and saying things that people didn’t get. But he wasn’t trying to confuse people—he was loving people who were left out. He took care of people, met them where they were, and lifted them up. He stood up for the weak, challenged the wicked, and forgave the sinner. The Savior was rocking the unbelieving world.
From the moment he was born, people have been divided over Jesus. Can you think of moments in the New Testament when the world rejected him?
Now look at your own life. Where do you feel that same kind of division? Where is Jesus calling you to reflect his light and love—even when it’s hard or unpopular?
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, you sent your one and only Son to redeem a world lost in darkness. He is the Light of life. Help me reflect that light so others may see that there is hope in this lost world. Amen.