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Praise God! I am so glad to find this passage in the Bible, especially in light of my own personal struggles. The Word is comforting, even in passages such as this that seem to be completely contrary to the image that the world has of Jesus and of Christians.

Thanks to the Lord seeing fit to include this message to us in his Word; I didn't have to wonder why my family has turned against me. When a miscommunication over my attendance at my niece's first birthday caused me to call my brother to apologize for the miscommunication, and inform him that I would, in fact, be there, out of the blue I was verbally attacked by him. He proceeded to tell me how little he thought of me and how he thought that I since I "sit [in church] for two hours every Sunday, [I] might want to actually pay attention. Ever hear of the Golden Rule: Do unto others..." Then, after he was done, he handed the phone over to my mother, who was there with him, and she proceeded to give me more of the same. The phone call lasted nearly an hour and a half.

For the last week I've been trying to discover why these two people, whom I love dearly, and with whom I've always had a great relationship, would have said such hurtful things to me. The central theme of the conversation was: I have changed over the past 8 years. This is true, but not for the reasons they assume.

They assume that it is because I got married 8 years ago (so it must be my wife's fault), but the real reason is that just before I got married, I became a Christian. I DID CHANGE! Dramatically. I am no longer the person they once knew. I am not the son my mother raised and I am not the brother my brother grew up with. I am a new creature in Christ. The old person I was is gone. The new person I am is here. PRAISE THE LORD!!! I'm not going back to the person I was. This change was not only permanent, but eternal.

I have tried to be a good witness for Christ, especially to my family, all of whom are non-believers. But the Christ they want to see is the Christ of the flannel board, the Christ that helps and heals, but never hurts. They can't understand why I would choose to do things for Christ, like volunteer with the Boy Scouts or teach pre-K Sunday school, instead of going to a family gathering (on short notice) half way across the state. The "Golden Rule" they expect me to live by is better summed up as "Do unto us as we would want you to." That's not the way I read it. I believe that Christ expects his followers to make choices, hard choices in many cases. And those choices should be focused on doing the most good for the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Jesus of the flannel board is fine for children and is the right approach to introduce them to Christ. Children need to understand Jesus' loving nature, they need to understand how much he cares for each and everyone of us. This meets them where they are with things they can understand - they understand what it means to have someone love and care for them. However, this is only one side of the Savior of Mankind. The "adult version" of the gospel gets into more mature topics like this one. Jesus did not come to make peace with everyone, he came only to save those who choose to side with him by winning the war against Death and Hell. Through this he brought love and unity, but only to those who choose to follow Him.

The real Jesus is a warrior king. You are either for Him or against Him. There is no middle ground for those who want to be his disciples. This is why our families will be divided. Those who choose Christ over their families must do so at the risk of severing relationships, even those which are most fundamental and dear to us on this earth. Fortunately, many are successful in recruiting their family members into the Army of God, but unfortunately, many (like myself) are not. Jesus tells us here that not only is it OK for this to happen, but that he expects it to happen.

I am encouraged in my own, personal trials because Jesus tells me here that I am doing what he expects me to do. Another encouraging part is Luke 12:52 "From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three." That is exactly my situation. My mother, brother and sister-in-law are divided against my wife and me. Three against two, two against three.

Praise the LORD for the wonderful gift of his Word. May we all be found worthy of Christ. Amen!