One of my greatest joys in junior high and high school was being part of our school choirs. We were very good, and won awards as we competed against other choirs. When people go to see musical performances, they see a polished presentation. Having been involved in preparing for those performances, I know that the first rehearsal on a new piece is nothing like what people see at the performance. I can’t imagine how many hours our choir invested working on timing, enunciation, balance across the choir, and, of course, hitting the right notes.

I was thinking about choir as I read Jesus’ words in Luke’s gospel: “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!” (Luke 12:51 – I dealt with this extensively in the sermon on Sunday). The sermon dealt with the difficulty of hearing these words from Jesus and what He might have meant by them (i.e. that Jesus’ intent is not to bring division, but that Jesus’ message itself causes division between those who follow Jesus and those who choose not to – I don’t believe Jesus would stir up division where it didn’t need to be – there would be a purpose for it).

Jesus’ words got me thinking about what separates division from diversity from harmony. While Jesus prays for unity (John 17:11), I don’t hear any evidence in the Bible or anything that I’ve witnessed throughout my life that leads me to believe that God wants or expects us to all be alike (e.g. Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, 27). We are unique, diverse, blessed people whom God loves. So, what makes diversity become either division or harmony? There are many ways to answer this, but, rather than reflecting on that here, I entrust this question to your devotion and reflection time (see This Week below).

God bless you this week in your prayer and walk with God.

This Week

I encourage you to listen or re-listen to the sermon for Sunday as background for the Scriptures below. Then read the Scriptures below throughout the week, especially Jeremiah and Luke.

• What makes diversity become either division or harmony?
• Think about some division in your life. This is difficult to do, but prayerfully consider the division from your perspective as well as the perspective of the other person. How would you describe the root cause(s) of the division? Is there a way to turn that division into harmony?
• Journal for yourself or share your reflections, questions, or insights here.

Scriptures

• Jeremiah 23:23-29
• Hebrews 11:29-12:2
• Luke 12:49-56 – the words of Jesus don’t appear only in Luke’s gospel, but in Matthew’s as well. Notice that they don’t appear together and notice the context.
  • Matthew 10:32-39 – “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
  • Matthew 16:1-4 – “You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.”