Burky's Blog

One points out about Jesus sending not peace, but a sword.  (Matthew 10:34)  That reminds me of two other verses that I may have overlooked in my first article.  There is a verse about truth as a double-edged sword, (Hebrews 4:12) and one about resisting the devil (James 4:7).

            Let us look at those verses in context of their verses.  Hebrews 4:12 is easy, the truth is obvious.  James 4:7 is easy too, although the trick of words can confuse us.  In my experience, I find that nonresistance is the primary key of Christian life.  It is same as surrendered life, submission, humility, and self-denial that we all seem to be fond of talking about as part of Christian life.  Because of nonresistance (none resistance) is the key to rejoicing in time of adversity, resisting the devil is more like stop resisting.  Since everything is gift from God, it is our choice to react what we will.  When we resist something, we tend to feel negative and unhappy.  When we let go and accept things joyfully, we tend to feel positive and rejoicing in the Lord.  So what do you choose?

            One morning, at work, I was carrying a tray, so I had my hands full.  My co-worker would open the doors for me on some mornings.  But that particular morning, I was expecting my co-worker to open the door for me.  He got frustrated and told me to hurry up because I was in his way.  I could see that he wasn't having a good morning.  If he was in good mood, he would have opened the doors as he does some mornings.  But that morning he wasn't, so he didn't think about courtesy.  I thought about that is very true of myself.  Whenever I was in bad mood, I tend to do wrong things more quickly than when I was in good mood.  Because of this, I am determined to stay in good mood.

            I noticed that when I am in bad mood, it is usually because I am resisting something.  Whenever I am tempted to feel negative something, I bring my thoughts into captivity.  I stop and re-think before I would wallow in negative feelings.  Why am I feeling this way?  Nearly always, if not always, I find myself resisting something.  When I resist, the inner peace is gone.  When I let go and relax, the inner peace returns.

            In this context from my actual experiences and my knowledge of Scriptures, I concluded that when Jesus refers to sending sword was talking about when people seek to ensure inner peace would find themselves at variance at each other.  It is very natural for a father to wish the best for his children, but the reality is often the children find the very best for themselves much differently than what their parents may wish for them.  Human nature will always find something to resist.  Whenever one resists, there will be "sword".  Good example could be found in reading stories about famous people.  Like, for example, Florence Nightingale wants to be a nurse when it is not a social norm for women to be one, and of course, that cause variance between her and her family and friends.

            Some people notice that when nonconformity goes out the window, nonresistance does too.  I can see why they see it that way.  When one stops resisting the progress, he will tolerate others to go to military.  Hence, the church that doesn't practice separation in lifestyle will also have some members going to military.  History shows that conscientious objectors are not always those of Anabaptist descendent; there were some objectors from other faiths such as Lutherans and others.  The evidence from this is that those who don't resist and recognize the power of love wouldn't go to military, but will tolerate others to go if they wish to go.  It is much better to be real than to be "hypocrite", just because you are doing what you are told.

            Let us not forget the primary focus of Christian living: Matthew 22:37-40.  Or we will be as guilty as Pharisees (see Matthew 23, especially verse 23).