Over some months I have been pondering over and praying about the situation we in Britain find ourselves in. A referendum that managed a small majority to leave the European Union has caused major issues.
I was preparing for the start of a sermon series early in September and the series is working through Galatians. The thing that I began to see was the way in which division can come is not always from where you expect. Paul was trying to correct something that was affecting those churches and reading his other letters churches in other parts of the regions. Something that you might have expected from other faiths wanting to put the early Christian faithfully down or divide and conquer them. But no this came from within. Paul refers to those trying to add extra conditions into the simple salvation by grace that he preached in Galatians:
Gal 2:4 This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.
Strong language - false believers, some who were trying to convince the Christians that they were not saved if they were not circumcised. And it got worse, later Paul took a stand against Peter who had bowed under pressure and it seems at that point would not share the Lord's table with "Christians" who were uncircumcised. What a state of play, polarized views, division. Fortunately the whole thing was sorted out by the church meeting together and discussing, praying and then agreeing the way forwards.
It got me to putting together some thoughts from my prayer and study for the division that the Brexit / Remain thing has caused in Britain. My conclusion - God was not /is not on either side in this debate, the church has not heard God's direction, in my opinion. This debate that has successfully done what nothing that I can recall in my lifetime has achieved - its divided churches, its divided political parties, its paralyzed government as MP's seem like infants in a playpen, all fighting to get the toys they want and no one managing it. I don't believe that God is in such division and chaos. But I know there is one who thrives on it, working in the background to sow discord and division - the same one who attempted to break Jesus away from his earthly task.
Mar 1:12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness,
Mar 1:13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
The Christian church has an opportunity, if we can surrender our partisan views first, I think, to speak into the chaos and to encourage healing in this dire situation.To bring order to the chaos and to speak out on letting partisan views go and instead truly seek first the kingdom of God and then his direction for the country. We could set an example, but we might well simply remain as divided as the rest of the nation.
I was preparing for the start of a sermon series early in September and the series is working through Galatians. The thing that I began to see was the way in which division can come is not always from where you expect. Paul was trying to correct something that was affecting those churches and reading his other letters churches in other parts of the regions. Something that you might have expected from other faiths wanting to put the early Christian faithfully down or divide and conquer them. But no this came from within. Paul refers to those trying to add extra conditions into the simple salvation by grace that he preached in Galatians:
Gal 2:4 This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.
Strong language - false believers, some who were trying to convince the Christians that they were not saved if they were not circumcised. And it got worse, later Paul took a stand against Peter who had bowed under pressure and it seems at that point would not share the Lord's table with "Christians" who were uncircumcised. What a state of play, polarized views, division. Fortunately the whole thing was sorted out by the church meeting together and discussing, praying and then agreeing the way forwards.
It got me to putting together some thoughts from my prayer and study for the division that the Brexit / Remain thing has caused in Britain. My conclusion - God was not /is not on either side in this debate, the church has not heard God's direction, in my opinion. This debate that has successfully done what nothing that I can recall in my lifetime has achieved - its divided churches, its divided political parties, its paralyzed government as MP's seem like infants in a playpen, all fighting to get the toys they want and no one managing it. I don't believe that God is in such division and chaos. But I know there is one who thrives on it, working in the background to sow discord and division - the same one who attempted to break Jesus away from his earthly task.
Mar 1:12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness,
Mar 1:13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
The Christian church has an opportunity, if we can surrender our partisan views first, I think, to speak into the chaos and to encourage healing in this dire situation.To bring order to the chaos and to speak out on letting partisan views go and instead truly seek first the kingdom of God and then his direction for the country. We could set an example, but we might well simply remain as divided as the rest of the nation.
