When Christ walked upon this earth, division rose among the people. He came to bring hope, peace, love and to present the only way of salvation. As He went about performing miracles and drawing people to His ministry, there arose an opposition crowd who proclaimed throughout the land that He was evil. They tried to diminish His ministry. Because He cast out demons and healed the sick on the Sabbath, they wanted Him arrested. He had upset the status quo. We, His followers, are often met with this same opposition and resistance throughout our land. Particularly, we are hated when we take a stand for righteousness; despite, our doing so with gentleness, kindness and a spirit of humility.
DIVISION GROWS
The division and opposition screams loudly against the voice of reason presented by the Christians. The true Christian is meek and quiet in their response; allowing the loud, bold to out shout them from every corner of this land and earth. However, we know that the victory is ours; because, Christ won that victory on the cross. Yet, just as Christ; we are saddened and even angered within our hearts by the hardness, crassness and the rhetoric of the crowds. At times, they rise up with violence and we cry out to God, “how long?” Still, as exampled by Christ; we are to press forward doing that which is right and good and kind in the face of their division and opposition.
MARK 3:1-6
He entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched Him, whether He would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse Him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. And he saith unto them, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.
ACCUSATIONS OF COLLUSION
As Christ continued to heal the sick and cast out demons, the crowds began to gather around Him. Some believing He was the Son of God; while others, were merely in search of the miracles He performed. Because there were so many crowds following Him, His opposition crowd of Pharisees; tried to smear His name. Some called Him crazy and others accused Him of colluding with Satan. After all, they wanted to explain away His powers without accepting Him as the Savior. Then, came His reply,
MARK 3: 23-27
He called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
DIVISION WITHIN A NATION
A nation divided against itself cannot stand. That is true within our family, our church, and within our land. Uniting with love, hope, and civil discussion. We must find one common thread on which to weave and stitch our differences, so that we might treat each other with decency, respect and kindness. Can we choose to love our country enough with all its flaws so that we might unite around our flag with patriotism? As long as there are violent crowds screaming and throwing stones at us instead of talking with us, we can never heal the division and we will fall as a nation.
WHAT ARE WE TO DO?
- Do not join the violence. [bctt tweet=”When we become a part of the problem, we can never be a part of the solution!” username=”effiedarlene”]
- Do not waiver! [bctt tweet=”Continue to perform acts of goodness, kindness and love in the face of opposition. ” username=”effiedarlene”]
- Remember this truth! [bctt tweet=”Christ has won the ultimate victory, we can march forward with faith, hope and courage.” username=”effiedarlene”]
Charles Spurgeon wrote in A Powerful Reason for coming to Christ:
THE opposition of the great ones of the earth did not, after all, hinder the cause of Christ. …I would have you, beloved, count upon opposition and regard it as a token of coming blessings. Dread not the black cloud, it does but prognosticate a shower. March may howl and bluster and April may dampen all things with its rains, but the May flowers and the autumn’s harvest of varied fruits will come and come by this very means. Go on and serve your God in the serenity of holy confidence and you shall live to see that the hand of the Lord is not to be turned back, though the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together.
The featured image above and this are samples of the creative artistry of Roninron.com They are used by permission here. Please consider going to his website and reviewing his art work.
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2017
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.