Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.
Matthew 12:25 ESV
The Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan. In response, he told them that a kingdom divided against itself would not stand but would instead be destroyed. If he was casting out demons by the power of Satan, then Satan’s kingdom was divided and would not stand. So, their charge made no sense.
This is true of earthly kingdoms as well. Internal strife is just as destructive to a nation as external threats, if not more so. A kingdom divided against itself is a weak and ineffective kingdom.
And does this not also apply to us in the kingdom of God? God’s kingdom is not in danger of being destroyed. But how much is our effectiveness compromised when we are divided against each other?
We fight over our doctrines and traditions. We divide into a multitude of individual camps. Each is convinced that our understanding of what the Bible teaches is best, and everyone else is misled or deceived. And that our way of being the church is superior to any other.
The world looks at us, and what do they see? Are they drawn to Christ by what they see in us? Or does our bickering amongst ourselves repel them?
The problem is not that we worship in different ways. That we organize in different ways. Or even that we have differences in our beliefs. The problem is that we allow those differences to divide us.
Love One Another
What if we were to take Jesus’ command to love one another seriously (John 13:34)? To recognize our differences but embrace as brothers and sisters in Christ? And to extend grace and mercy to each other (Matt. 12:7)? Would not the world then know that we are Jesus’ disciples (John 13:35)? And would we not be more effective in carrying out the great commission he left us with (Matt. 28:18-20)?
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:7-8 ESV
