But A Sword

Think Not

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household." Matthew 10:34-36

Too many times, our ideas about God stem from the corrupt desires in our own hearts. We make God into someone who justifies our feelings and does what we want Him to do. The same standard people use to define "love" in the world is applied to God: If it caters to what I like, what I think, and what I want - if it exalts me and makes me feel good - then it is God.

This is a false understanding. God says that love is obedience to His commands; anything else is counterfeit. Love has absolutely nothing to do with how something makes you feel. We must walk away from our perceptions about God that have no basis in truth; and this is one such notion.


The same God who said that He is the Prince of Peace said that He came not to bring peace, but a sword. The same Savior who said to honor your mother & your father said that He has come to set at odds a man from his parents.

ALL of Scripture is God-inspired and there are no contradictions therein. So then, how does the above text fit into our image of a loving, caring, peaceable Father God? Because God's ways & thoughts are higher than our own. His understanding of what brings peace & honor is not what we assume it to be. We attain peace by being reconciled to God. We honor our parents when we are doing the will of our Father. Anything that gets in the way of those things Jesus will cut off or separate us from.

This may come as a shock to some, but God's priority is not to bring or keep families together. This doesn't mean that God doesn't care about our families. I am saying that God's objective is to bring people into HIS family.

People often say that blood is thicker than water. NOT according to God! Consider the following:

"While he [Jesus] yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother." Matthew 12:46-50

Jesus' mother and his brothers stood outside of a house while Jesus was teaching inside, and they desired to speak with Him. Now I don't know about you, but in my family, ignoring such a request would have been considered a huge offense, a sign of disrespect. Many would consider such as being disobedient to the command to honor our mother and father. Yet, we are speaking here of Jesus Christ, the one who never sinned.

Not only did Jesus not stop what He was doing and heed the request of His mother & brothers, He seems to add insult to injury. He asks, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" Jesus then states that whosoever does the will of His Father is "the same" as His brother, sister, and mother.

Now how many mothers or fathers would be able to receive this? Keep in mind here, I am not speaking of children, who are clearly called to obey their parents. I am speaking of what it means to be an adult honoring your parents.

Too many times, people twist the word of God to suit their own agendas, keeping people in bondage to themselves. In an attempt to be "Godly", we then subject ourselves to things that we should not because we do not understand God's view in a matter. One example of this is the Roman Catholic Church's exaltation of Mary. Much of their erroneous doctrine about Mary comes from this place of "honoring" Jesus' mother. "It only makes sense", they often say, "to honor Mary in this way, because she is Jesus' mother."

Yet, according to Jesus Christ, blood is not thicker than water. Those who have been born again by water and Spirit are due the same type of honor we would bestow upon our earthly mothers & fathers. Jesus specifically states that those who do the will of the Father are the same as His mother. So where then is the justification for exalting Mary (or anyone else)? This does not belittle the parental relationship, but rather it re-aligns our thinking to God's.

"He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Matthew 10:37

God desires for us to do His will, and even our earthly relationships must be made subordinate to that goal. Jesus' obligation - and ours - is first to our Father in Heaven; to His family & His kingdom. If this is our mindset, then all other relationships we have will be proper and in order...even if our actions seem unloving to others. We are never called to honor others in a way which permits the unGodly or caters to the desires of others ahead of God's desires for us. When honoring another puts us at odds with God's commands, then our "honoring" is in error.

Growing up, I always believed in God, but I did not know Him personally. I served Him religiously via the rituals of the church organization to which I belonged, but I mistakenly thought adherence to religious dictates was "knowing" God. Further, because I didn't know what Scripture said, I was blind to the idolatry and falsehoods in the church institution to which I belonged. Letting man define who God was, I was deceived.

Yet, when God revealed Himself to me, things changed. God pulled me into a quiet place with Him alone. In that quiet place, He worked on me individually and personally to change erroneous perceptions I had about who He is. In coming to the Lord, divisions were created amongst my friends and family. Not only did some choose to part ways with me, I had to also part ways with some of them.

God receives us as broken vessels and being made whole often requires us to be set apart from other influences. He calls us to come out from old ideas, traditions, and beliefs in ways that perhaps others who are close to us may not understand. He even begins to sever soul ties that create a false sense of obligation within us and compete with our allegiance/obedience to Him.

I am reminded of Abraham. Following God did not just require a heart change, but God specifically called for him to leave his extended family before following Him.

I think of Moses. Coming to know God went hand in hand with leaving behind the only family he had known. Those who had raised and nurtured him.

I remember Ruth. In deciding to have Naomi's God become her God, she left her family, her heritage, and her kinsmen.

I consider Esther, who - when taken to a place where she could be used by God to deliver His people - was initially required to not to acknowledge her kindred.

I see Jesus, who was mocked even by His own brothers, sisters, and countrymen.

There are others of course, but the point is that God calling them forth necessitated a separation from what they were before, and even at times from the family of their birth.

This note is not meant to be anti-family. Family is very important and is given to us by God as a reflection of our relationship with Him. But even earthly relationships can become idols, thereby supplanting the place that only God should have in our lives.

Not everyone is going to go where you go; and they may not even be called to. Don't be misled about your obligation to others in a way that makes them a god in your life. We are to be led of God's Holy Spirit first and foremost, and if we are, then every other relationship will be in accordance with His commands.

"Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." Romans 13:8