Family of Grace,
The past several days have been another stretch of confusion, sadness, and chaos. I’ve been thinking about divide et impera—“divide and conquer”—an age-old strategy to control the thoughts and actions of the masses with no single point of origin.
Over millennia leaders learned that power can be gained or kept by fragmenting opposition. Jesus is the first recorded historical figure to warn against it: in the Gospels He shows how destruction comes when a kingdom or a house is divided.
There’s a word from Jesus that has given me peace for many years:
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
There is a physical world and a spiritual world. The physical feels like the old adage, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease”—loud, in our face, always demanding a reaction. That makes it easy for the enemy to use differing opinions against us. I understand that much of the world runs on divide-and-conquer, dog-eat-dog, winners and losers. But the Spirit’s realm is different. Paul reminds us in Ephesians that we “do not wrestle against flesh and blood,” but against rulers and powers of this dark world. On Sunday I said we can have differences in our minds yet still be unified in our hearts. I believe that deeply.
John Wesley’s words ring in my heart whenever the earthly realm feels split. In his sermon “On the Catholic Spirit” (“catholic” meaning universal), he asks: “Is your heart right, as my heart is?” We will have many differences; they matter, and we need not deny them. But the core question for working together is, “Are our hearts alike?”
Wesley continues, “Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may… If it be so, then give me your hand. I do not mean, ‘Be of my opinion.’ You need not; I do not expect or desire it. Neither do I mean, ‘I will be of your opinion.’ Keep you your opinion; I mine.” Don’t you love that?
If we had lived that out last week, perhaps there would have been less carnage and loss of life. This is the Christian call: to love at all costs, to keep our hearts mended together, and to walk—not in front of or behind our brother or sister—but beside them. That’s the heart of Jesus. I want it to be mine. Will you pray for me? I’ll pray for you.
In Christ,
James
Rev. James A. Williams
Senior Pastor
Grace Resurrection Methodist Church
The past several days have been another stretch of confusion, sadness, and chaos. I’ve been thinking about divide et impera—“divide and conquer”—an age-old strategy to control the thoughts and actions of the masses with no single point of origin.
Over millennia leaders learned that power can be gained or kept by fragmenting opposition. Jesus is the first recorded historical figure to warn against it: in the Gospels He shows how destruction comes when a kingdom or a house is divided.
There’s a word from Jesus that has given me peace for many years:
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
There is a physical world and a spiritual world. The physical feels like the old adage, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease”—loud, in our face, always demanding a reaction. That makes it easy for the enemy to use differing opinions against us. I understand that much of the world runs on divide-and-conquer, dog-eat-dog, winners and losers. But the Spirit’s realm is different. Paul reminds us in Ephesians that we “do not wrestle against flesh and blood,” but against rulers and powers of this dark world. On Sunday I said we can have differences in our minds yet still be unified in our hearts. I believe that deeply.
John Wesley’s words ring in my heart whenever the earthly realm feels split. In his sermon “On the Catholic Spirit” (“catholic” meaning universal), he asks: “Is your heart right, as my heart is?” We will have many differences; they matter, and we need not deny them. But the core question for working together is, “Are our hearts alike?”
Wesley continues, “Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may… If it be so, then give me your hand. I do not mean, ‘Be of my opinion.’ You need not; I do not expect or desire it. Neither do I mean, ‘I will be of your opinion.’ Keep you your opinion; I mine.” Don’t you love that?
If we had lived that out last week, perhaps there would have been less carnage and loss of life. This is the Christian call: to love at all costs, to keep our hearts mended together, and to walk—not in front of or behind our brother or sister—but beside them. That’s the heart of Jesus. I want it to be mine. Will you pray for me? I’ll pray for you.
In Christ,
James
Rev. James A. Williams
Senior Pastor
Grace Resurrection Methodist Church
Posted in Rev. James Williams Weekly Blog
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