In Luke 12:49-56 Jesus is very passionate about what He wants us to understand. We sometimes are lulled into thinking that He was always “gentle Jesus, meek and mild” and while He loves us, He is concerned by our failure to grasp the meaning of what He teaches. He is very animated in this passage, using strident language to awaken our sense of urgency.
Jesus knows we are not getting the picture, so He uses the example of a family divided to illustrate the point that regardless of how we divide ourselves by group or affiliation, there are really only two groups: those who accept Him as Lord and Savior and those who do not. This is the decision that each of us must make for ourselves. Jesus wants to save us all and He was willing to prove it through His obedience to God’s plan.
Our obedience is based first on acceptance of Jesus and then on continuing relationship with God and learning His plan for us. We must learn to be obedient as Jesus was, and follow His example. Only through our intentional acceptance of His grace can we hope to live with Him forever.
Loving Lord, help us to see that only You can save us, and that we must choose to be in relationship with You. Let us learn from Your example and the love we show each other what it means to be part of the family of God. Amen.