Daily Devotions
Thursday, August 14, 2025
Luke 12:49-53 – [Jesus said:] “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is My distress until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
It must have been hard on Jesus, knowing that His coming was going to create the worst disunity the world has ever seen. Listen to what He says: “From now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three.” It will be this way till the end of the world, as people hear the Gospel and make up their minds about Jesus—will they believe in Him? Will they even tolerate the people in their family who do believe? Or will they throw them out and refuse to speak to them, ever again?
Blessed are you if you have a family where everyone trusts in Jesus—because that kind of peace is rare in the world. In my own congregation right now, a man is losing his home because he is a Christian, and his family is throwing him out. Of course the church will care for him—we’ll never let him go on the streets!—but he’s grieving for the family he loves, who refuse to listen to a word about Jesus—and who’s to say that they ever will? We can only pray.
This is the reality Jesus was facing as He walked steadily toward the cross. He knew that His own suffering was just the beginning. Through His own torture, death, and resurrection, Jesus would break the power of evil and give real, everlasting life to everyone who trusts in Him. But those same beloved people will go through suffering just as Jesus did—because, as Jesus tells us, “A servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him” (John 13:16b).
And so, even today, Jesus’ church is made up of bits and pieces—children of anti-Christian parents, parents whose children have left the faith, spouses sitting alone. We grieve. And yet, it’s okay! Because though we may be in pieces, Jesus is building something new out of us—a new unity He calls His body, the church. We may have lost everything we had before Jesus claimed us; Jesus will replace our losses, He says, a hundred times over (see Mark 10:29-30). In His church we discover new people to love and take care of—many of them people we would never have dreamed of noticing before Jesus brought us close to Him. And always we keep praying for those we first loved, that they may finally come to faith through God’s good mercy.
It hurts to be in pieces; and yet, we have hope. Jesus will make us whole in Him—no matter how long it takes.
WE PRAY: Dear Jesus, You know I’m grieving for [name and name], who do not believe in You. Please bring them to faith. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
- How can Christian faith lead to disunity in a family?
- Have you seen this in your own experience?
- What comfort does Jesus give to those of us who have lost relationships we cherished because of Him?
Today's Readings:
1 Chronicles 10-121 Corinthians 8