A house divided

While I was doing my internship in the South, I learned what true passion for college football looks like. I was hanging out with a family who had both a Tennessee fan and an Alabama fan. You can imagine the kind of passion they had, and they often referenced, “A house divided cannot stand.” Whether you are quoting Abraham Lincoln or the Bible, we know that this reference began in Scripture.

I remember that when I was with my friends in the South, all bets were off when they started talking about college football. I didn’t know what they would do or say next.  They were willing to take cheap shots and say things that were not allowed in conversations, and sometimes even enforce the rule of silence. It’s odd how an issue of deep passion can create such a change in our behavior, and even in our logical thinking. How many things have you said during a fight, that when you really thought about it, didn’t make sense?

Looking back to the life of Jesus, we find some leaders of faith coming against Him, and questioning His family and who stands with Him.  In response to them, Jesus points out that the devil, working against himself, would not accomplish the intended purpose. He uses the example of a robber in a house.  The robber is going to take down the strong man, otherwise he can’t get what he came for. If Jesus was working for the devil or by the power of the devil, yet casting out demons, He would be defeating the devil’s intended purpose.

This easily shows that the church leaders, by accusing Jesus, were tearing down the very house they were intending to build. They were pushing against the purpose they had, which was to further the kingdom. Jesus, then, points out that speaking against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven. If we question the work of the Holy Spirit, how then can we be forgiven, since forgiveness is His very work.

To make things more complex, the religious leaders bring Jesus’ family into it. They try to create tension among the crowd about those people they suspect are the most supportive of Jesus. Unlike us, Jesus is not easily swayed and moves on to talk about the family of God.

All this is great, but it’s a lot of deep talk, and it’s challenging to see the intentions of those coming against Jesus and how we fit into this picture. I return to the reference of my friends and say this, college football is a harmless thing to be battle one another on, but other things are not so harmless. Times when my wife and I fight about the kids or our parenting skills create major tensions. Mindy and I have a passion for family, and we have put that as a mission for our marriage, to be intentional for our family and others. In the beginning of our marriage it was much easier judge one another and say hurtful things when we felt like the other one was not doing what we wanted. We soon realized we were not getting anywhere. We were never getting closer to our intended mission by slamming one another, even if we felt like they had made a poor decision. It was not until later that we could see a lot more was accomplished to strengthen our house by thoughtful forgiveness, discussion, and love. The church leaders of the day were coming against a perfect Jesus (not sinners like us), and more importantly, they were missing that it was their own selfish desires that were leading them to attack Jesus, and in turn, attempt to wreck the very mission they were trying to uphold.

At first, this text may seem far from anything we think we need to talk about it, but look deep enough, and you will find missions you sabotage on a daily basis thanks to your selfish desires and misspoken words. Thankfully, knowing the work of the Holy Spirit and Jesus, we know He came to restore us and forgive us. That brings us back to our intended mission – to build the house and restore homes – speaking of the victory won by Jesus.