Is the Kingdom Divided?

Is the Kingdom Divided?

Who does not recognize the extreme division in our country today. It is sad to see the separation causing so much damage to our culture. The land of the free, and the home of the brave, has become a boiling pot of anger and division.

I love this country and pray for it, and it’s leaders.

Still I look for the reasons why, and the path to make things better. Because of who I am I first look to myself, and to the church. Jesus shared the way we can make our world better.

Matthew 5:13-16

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;

15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven

The two operative words in these passages are salt and light.

Jesus used both words metaphorically. The Greek lexicon tells us the message that Jesus was giving His followers.

Salt comes from the Greek word, halas. Metaphorically it means, salt is a symbol of lasting concord. Wisdom and grace exhibited in speech. WOW.

Light comes from the Greek word phos. Used metaphorically to speak of truth and it’s knowledge. That which is exposed to the view of all. The power of understanding moral and spiritual truth.

We are the preservation, and the illumination of the world. So what’s the problem? The problem is that the church is often as divided as the world.

I recently heard a Biblical scholar say that Islam is growing much faster in this country than Christianity. The reason is, people don’t know what we believe. The message has been divided into many different presentations.

By the latest statistics since the Reformation more than 41,000 different Christian denominations and institutions have formed.

The church must return to the unified message of Jesus and the cross.

Those who have never followed Christ don’t know what we believe. Skip the theological principles and share with these people the story of Jesus.

The path to redemption is the story of the cross. The story of Jesus and His love and commitment to restore favor with the Father and forgiveness for our sins.

Maybe we should stop focusing on the sin, and focus on the Savior. Jesus, His birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension is the greatest story ever told.

Remember the old hymn, “Tell me the story of Jesus. Write on my heart every word. Tell me the story of Jesus, sweetest as ever I heard.”

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