A Kingdom Divided
John 13:34-35 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
So often as Christians think our witness to the world relies on the way we love our neighbor, but how are you doing loving your family?
Jesus says rather, they (the world) will know we are His by the way we love one another (your spiritual family in Christ). Our greatest, most effective witness for Christ is shown in the way we love each other in the family of God. As God’s beloved children we reflect the love and values of our father. How are we doing at this? Lets be honest, most of us know our spiritual families can be rather dysfunctional. What would it look like to truly love one another in the spiritual family God has placed you in, to live not only in unity but also in sacrificial giving and care for one another?
I am convinced that our neighbors are desperate for true genuine community, how inspiring would it be to see the family of God love each other with such passion and sacrifice that our neighbors would long to be part of such a community. This is possible!
So my question is; how come we don’t experience this in our churches? How is it that God’s family has become so divided, over so many things? Jesus in Matthew 12:25 says “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand.”
If we want to see a movement of God’s Kingdom in our communities I suggest we start asking ourselves how we have divided it, and start taking steps to repair some broken relationships in the family. To “love one another” does not mean we have to be right, it means we have to sacrifice in love as our father did for us, that our focus in not on ourselves, but we in unity love each other and focus on our sisters and brothers that are still lost and looking for a way home.
