Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, nay, but rather division. Luke 12:51
At first blush, this first seems to be a contradiction. After all, didn’t the angels proclaim peace when Jesus was born in Bethlehem? And didn’t Isaiah declare that He would be called the Prince of Peace? Today’s text looks like it is challenging those declarations. It’s not, really, but you can see how somebody might think so. In this portion, Jesus is reminding His disciples that, because of Him, families will be divided. We see families all around us that are divided by the Gospel, some having believed it, others having rejected it. The sad part is that some families will never be reunited.
The time is coming when the Prince of Peace will indeed set up His kingdom, reigning in perfect righteousness, eliminating all wars and disputes, ending all disagreements, settling all differences. What a day that will be! How wonderfully different from what we know now!. But while that day is coming, while we are still in the Day of Grace and not in the Kingdom Age, the Holy Spirit brings peace to the hearts of those who have trusted Christ. We have peace with God, and, to the measure that we appreciate that peace, we have peace with our fellow-believers. Sometimes it’s a shaky peace we experience with other believers, sometimes it takes a lot of grace to maintain, but peace is possible. Not so with those who are not saved, although the animosity should never be from our side. The world that is at enmity with God will also be at enmity with His children.
Although we as Christians should strive to live peaceably with all men, there is one very good reason why it will seldom happen. If we are living as we should for our Lord, we will not be compromising with the world. That will irritate the ungodly. We can have peace, at least for a little while, if we compromise our testimonies and our doctrine. But we won’t be effective as Christians. For the world, peace is a sign that things are going well. For the Christian, peace is often a danger sign, evidence that things are not going well. Peace with the world is often costly, dangerous, and tragic for the Child of God.
Whose peace are you enjoying the most, your peace with God, or your peace with the world around you? Peace with God will enrich your soul. Peace with the world will impoverish your soul. -Jim MacIntosh