Not peace, but a sword

So this is probably one of the hardest concepts of Christianity for me to wrap my head around, Matthew 10: 34-39. We tend to read faster when we get to it so it doesn't actually sink in, so that it might not have an actual affect on our life. Jesus says he comes not to bring peace, but a sword. In some ways we think of ourselves as peace givers, bringing the peace of God to a chaotic world spinning out of control. In other ways we think of ourselves lining up for battle behind William Wallace, ready to slit some throats for the King. (Mostly because we know the battle is already won and we have nothing of any severity to lose) This idea is a lot more fun, imagining God's judgement and wrath on everyone else other than ourselves. But here Jesus shows us, that there is a great love we must surrender in order to follow Christ. A love that must be secondary to the will of God. The Love of our families.

To the guy that read the verse, "if your right eye causes you to stumble, cut it out..." and then cut out his eye only to find out he could still use the other one, Jesus is not saying don't love your family. Quite the opposite. Jesus is showing us the scale in which He works with. Now there are many exceptions to the love we have for our wives, children, siblings, parents, friends, etc. I know not everyone has good relationships with their families, or certain family members, but even then we can feel the weight of the love not there. Being single for many years as a follower of Christ It had almost become easy when God said, "drop your nets and follow me," for i had nothing to drop. It was just me, and I had already given my life to the Kingdom of God. But soon after getting married, I began to feel a pull. I was now driven by two forces. The love for my King, and the love for my wife. Now on paper this is easy, after all "King" is capitalized right? "wife" is not. Ha. Well I could have never imagined one of the most difficult things I would ever have to do is tell the Lord, I love you above my wife. Verses like Matthew 8:22 and Luke 9:60 where Jesus requires you to let the dead bury the dead make this exceptionally tough. We can all imagine the ones we love dying and how important it would be for us to be their to bury them, but God has put something on the table that we cannot ignore. There is a bigger scale of love than what we know, The love God has shown us through the redeeming of an unmentionable kind like ourselves. He gave up His own Son to let us know that His kingdom, His Glory, His righteousness, HIMSELF, is a cause in which is all worthy of our upmost love. If God is the God we believe him to be, what love then on earth should keep us from giving him all we have to give and let Him distribute it to those around us. It is in this that i have learned that i mustn't have to chose between my love for my King, and my love for my wife. For to love my King the most, Is to love my wife the best.

There are many causes out there claiming the good fight, and asking of your time and heart. This is the one worth dying, this is the one worth fighting. This is the only one that brings true life abundantly. That of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. One God's prized redemption, for His Glory and Kingdom forever. Amen.