Jesus comes to us as the Prince of peace but He comes to us knowing His ways are not embraced by everyone. So, this One who is of peace also has a way about Him of bringing division (Luke 12:51). There is something about Jesus that leads people either to love Him or hate Him. There doesn't seem to be much of a middle ground. To some He is "foolishness" and "a stumbling block," and to some He is "the power of God and the wisdom of God" (I Cor. 1:18, 23-24).

This seems troubling on the surface -- the One of Peace bringing division. I suppose Truth has a way of dividing people. Particularly when one brings into the world the very life of God, it can get very dangerous. Holiness does not abide well with unholiness. Holiness and unholiness are worlds in conflict so much so that when the perfect one came among us the only thing we knew to do with Him was to crucify Him. That's how unholiness handles holiness. Kill it.

What must not be seen in this is a false understanding that Jesus legitimizes violence in the name of God. He simply does not. He is calling people into the very life of God, a life of Christlikeness. True, discipleship to a view other than the dominant view may invoke violence on the part of the one who is not comfortable with what Jesus is doing. However, the division must never come from within the heart of the follower of Jesus.

If the life of Jesus in His followers is, indeed, repulsive to those who don't believe in Jesus, so be it. However, in the end, His followers are still spokespersons for the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of God is about mercy, forgiveness and love. We simply do not have time for violence because violence does not accomplish the will of God.

The Bible says, "the kingdom of God is…righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 14:17). As Jesus-indwelled people this is who we are, this is how we live. Let violence come from somewhere else.