“Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?” (Matthew 12 v 24-26)
These words are as relevant for today as when Jesus first spoke them. In response to the accusation that Jesus was driving out demons by the power of Satan, Jesus says this is nonsensical. How or why would Satan drive himself out? No kingdom can stand if there is no unity.
On June 16th 1858 the republicans chose Abraham Lincoln to run for the US Senate. It would be 2 more years before he became President. However, Lincoln’s speech that evening was addressing the division within government over slavery. He uses these same verses to speak to the Union who were divided in their opinion: Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined …
Kingdom, city or households are created to stand the test of time. Their greatest challenge is to deal with the division that comes its way. The city in the world known for its division more than any other city is surely Jerusalem. The Jews sound their Sabbath siren on Friday afternoons, 5 times every day the Muslims send their call out to pray and every day Church bells are ringing constantly. But as we see today, in 2021 the city and the nation is once again imploding within its division.
Look at any marriage, family, church, friendship groups etc. Division ruins what was created to stand.
So the big question is: Why do we fuel division? Do we really want to ruin something created to stand? Why do we complain and grumble? Why do we gossip and slander? Why do we attack one another?
Why so much division?
Missions Paul 