The Prince of Peace Doubles Down on Division

Americans love to rally around sports. It’s big business and to millions, it’s even religion. However, an interesting dynamic surfaces with professional football when opposing fan bases intersect. Metaphoric walls go up. People who normally get along become offended by senseless banter. Lines of division are drawn and there’s no going back to how relationships previously existed. 

I grew up in the large metropolitan area of what maps now call “Hampton Roads,” Virginia. It’s a lot of things, but it’s largely a professional sports wasteland. Being 200 miles from Washington, D.C., the “hometown” NFL franchise defaulted to the team formerly known as the Redskins, and now, the Commanders. 

With an extensive military population living in Hampton Roads, a bouillabaisse of sports allegiances trickled in over the decades. There are large contingents of Pittsburgh Steeler fans and Philadelphia Eagles maniacs. When the Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens came on the scene in the 1990s, the waters became murkier than ever. But no team causes a more divisive reaction to a Washington football fan than the Dallas Cowboys. 

I’m not the biggest NFL fan in the world, but I participated in a fantasy football league this past season with nine other guys from my church. It’s a good group of laid-back, fun-loving brothers who use football as an excuse to have community. I thought it was all fun and games as the season got underway, but then the Washington/Dallas animosity began to heat up. 

Four of the fellas are die-hard Washington fans. The type that can tell you stats about Washington’s Super Bowl appearances that happened over a decade before they were even born. But, as always, one of the guys, an elder statesman, is a life-long Dallas fan that lived through the Cowboys’ last dynasty era of the 1990s. The tension in our league chat threads led to genuinely uncomfortable moments amongst “brothers.” Offense was taken and division was the result.

So, when I recently read Luke 12, it resonated with me how Christ declared that He had not come to bring peace on earth, but division!

“I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:49-53 NIV)

My fantasy football league friends have not suffered eternity-altering implications by being divided Washington and Dallas fans. However, the division that Christ introduced to the world does have eternal implications. The verses in Luke 12 are uncomfortable and even unpopular in modern times, but being comfortable was never a prerequisite for speaking truth. At the risk of being offensive, I encourage you to separate yourselves from the darkness of the world and allow the light of Almighty God to illuminate your path. 

Deciding to follow Jesus with our lives, choosing to believe in Him and His sacrifice on the cross for our sins, will cause division in our lives. When we choose to surrender to God’s will, people who reject God will not like our decision to submit to Him. There will be offense taken.

Being offended these days is not uncommon, and many people are going to be upset by Christians simply because of who we are. To live life as a Christ-follower is to walk in the light. We strive to obey God’s commands and pursue righteousness. This is in direct contrast to the darkness of the world. Naturally, darkness cannot exist where there is light. This is the divide that Christ intentionally brings into our lives. It is a necessary separation that positions our souls for eternity with the Almighty. 

Are you willing to experience division in some of your relationships for the sake of the Lord? Can you handle the uncomfortable situations that will come when you take a stand for light in the face of darkness? As Christians, this is what Jesus is calling us to do and you are empowered to do it! Don’t cower in the face of wickedness just to keep the peace. Remember, Christ did not come to bring peace on earth, but division. Don’t let Him down. 

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Scripture is quoted from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION^®, NIV^® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.^® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.