Faith, Part 2 of 3预览

Faith can cause alienation

Jesus said, “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” (Luke 12:51)

Faith brings unity across all kinds of boundaries, as we saw yesterday. People who have nothing else in common become connected through their faith in Jesus Christ. But faith can also alienate people.

When someone comes to faith, this is not only a big change for that person. Family and friends will also notice it and may react negatively. The early Christians, for example, got into trouble when they no longer wanted to offer sacrifices to Roman gods or to the emperor. Today it may happen that someone who used to participate enthusiastically in all sorts of parties no longer feels at ease there now that he has come to know Jesus. Friendships can break down over that. Or someone may attend church regularly, missing family parties or Sunday morning brunch with the kids. These things can cause friction or even arguments. Paul and his colleagues knew all about this. Paul himself was a Jew, but when he became a Christian, he experienced tremendous hostility from his peers. So much so that he wrote in a letter, “Pray for us ... that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith.” (2 Thessalonians 3:2)

Have any relationships in your life been complicated or broken because of your faith in the Lord Jesus? How do you deal with this?