Scripture
49“I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning!50I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished.51Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other!
Observation
Jesus is teaching that following Him will not be easy. It will cause division, within a family and within the world..
Application
This pinged me because it reminded me of some thoughts about Matthew 24:9,13,21,44 - Be ready for end of days - specifically our struggle to bring peace to the world.
As Christians living in the world today, we constantly strive to spread the love of Christ and bring peace to the world. But is this a fruitless effort? Should we even bother doing this? I wonder this because Jesus clearly tells us in Matthew 24:9,13,21,44 that at the end, near the time of the 2nd coming, the world will basically be a horrible place; Christians will be hated, many will have turned away from God, and sin and evil will be rampant. And then here in Luke 12:49, Jesus is telling us following Him will divide the world, not bring peace to the world. Given that we know this is to occur - and it must occur because Jesus foretold it - why constantly struggle against a world which is doomed? It seems to me the classic definition of insanity: We, as Christians, are trying to make the world a better (peaceful) place fully knowing the world must set "on fire" (Luke 12:49) before the 2nd coming. Perhaps we should ignore the world and just focus on ourselves and our families?
49“I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning!50I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished.51Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other!
Observation
Jesus is teaching that following Him will not be easy. It will cause division, within a family and within the world..
Application
This pinged me because it reminded me of some thoughts about Matthew 24:9,13,21,44 - Be ready for end of days - specifically our struggle to bring peace to the world.
As Christians living in the world today, we constantly strive to spread the love of Christ and bring peace to the world. But is this a fruitless effort? Should we even bother doing this? I wonder this because Jesus clearly tells us in Matthew 24:9,13,21,44 that at the end, near the time of the 2nd coming, the world will basically be a horrible place; Christians will be hated, many will have turned away from God, and sin and evil will be rampant. And then here in Luke 12:49, Jesus is telling us following Him will divide the world, not bring peace to the world. Given that we know this is to occur - and it must occur because Jesus foretold it - why constantly struggle against a world which is doomed? It seems to me the classic definition of insanity: We, as Christians, are trying to make the world a better (peaceful) place fully knowing the world must set "on fire" (Luke 12:49) before the 2nd coming. Perhaps we should ignore the world and just focus on ourselves and our families?
