No Middle Ground

Matthew 10:34-11:1

³⁴“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

³⁵For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

³⁶And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.

³⁷Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

³⁸And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

³⁹Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

⁴⁰“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.

⁴¹The one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.

⁴²And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

^11:1When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

One of the most difficult aspects of life is when two people disagree about a fundamental belief and are subsequently forced to part company. We’ve all experienced it and can probably “name names” of those we were once close to that we have now lost to bitter disagreement. It is tragic and painful. Here at the end of His discourse on the life of the Christian missionary Jesus warns His disciples (and us) that this is going to happen because not everyone in your life will agree with the Christian message that must flow the life of a Christ follower. When those rifts happen inside of our familial relationships the pain is particularly acute. But the message is clear – you compromise in order to save those relationships at the peril of weakening or even losing the faith that holds your eternity. These are grave warnings.

This warning was particularly poignant for the first Christians. Many of them converted from Judaism and lost their contact their families who then abandoned them to their new faith. They may have even been treated as though they had died and would never be spoken to again by parents, siblings, or even spouses. There is antidotal evidence that this practice even continues today in the Middle East when a person converts from Judaism or Islam. Sometimes following Christ means that you lose everything else.

In today’s culture the attitude of “tolerance” really gets in the way of remaining firm in your beliefs. We are encouraged (even from the pulpit in some churches) to be accepting of every lifestyle and belief system. While I cannot speak against another person neither do I have to encourage and support that which negates my faith in Christ. It is a tight line we walk. The only way one can do so is to allow the Holy Spirit to inform and direct our choices and attitudes. I also make no apologies for standing up for the Gospel. We’ve all heard the analogy of the frog in the kettle. If you place a frog into a pot of cool water, he will just sit there happily. Then, if you slowly add heat to the pot the frog will be lulled into a complacent place of warmth. By the time the frog realizes that he’s in danger, it’s too late to get out. His limbs no longer allow him to jump out of danger. When we mix our lives with those who would speak against Christ or even hate Him, we are just like that frog. The danger seems to be something we can handle. By the time we begin to realize we might be in trouble, it might be too late and we have become an enemy of Christ rather than a follower. Satan rarely attacks with a full frontal assault.  Why do that when the long slow path works better?

Jesus’ warnings need to ring in our ears just as they did in the ears of the early disciples. To take up my cross and follow Him may mean that I have to leave behind those who would do harm to my faith. It’s tough. It always has been.