Un-Divided!

“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14 KJV

Such is the current controversy of the church collective today. There is in circulation a documentary called "Divided". Here’s a brief summary:

“There is a crisis. Christian youth are rapidly leaving evangelical churches for the world. This well-recognized disaster has been the topic of significant discussion in recent years for both church leaders and modern new media. DIVIDED follows young Christian filmmaker Philip Leclerc on a revealing journey as he seeks answers to what has led his generation away from the church. Traveling across the country conducting research and interviewing church kids, youth ministry experts, evangelists, statisticians, social commentators, and pastors, Philip discovers the shockingly sinister roots of modern, age-segregated church programs, and the equally shocking evidence that the pattern in the Bible for training future generations is at odds with modern church practices. He also discovers a growing number of churches that are abandoning age-segregated Sunday school and youth ministry to embrace the discipleship model that God prescribes in His Word.”

My husband and I, along with our oldest few children, watched this last week. It was highly thought provoking in reference to why this popular way of handling children happens in many churches today. I wonder when the division first became evident. When did the parents begin saying to God, “Someone else can teach our children about You.” Instead of discussing the sermon together after church on Sundays, we have to ask our little ones, “Johnny, what did Miss “Susie” teach you about God in Sunday school today?” Perish the thought! We must not let this be. We are a nation “Divided”. We are a people of God’s judgment. In our Reformed circles, we are in agreement at least, not to divide the families within our body and I know of other churches locally that may not be Reformed per se, but they don’t believe in a Sunday school forum of such. I love the way my kids take notes for instance. (Albeit they don’t do it every single time.) One Sunday My 6year old who is just learning to spell wrote down words she recognized like “submit”, and “respect”, though her spelling was way off, it was great to know she was paying attention. These are great opportunities for family discussions. We sit together and talk about what each one of us remembers most about the sermon and its practical application. Satan is a master of division. He knows one of the greatest strengths of the family is unity. He tries to divide child from parent, brother from brother and man from wife.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour.”       1Peter 5:8

He does seek to devour our souls. We tend to be distracted at times and forget this truth. The devil preys on us! Aesop said, “United we stand, divided we fall.” Or similarly, Abraham Lincoln, “A house divided cannot stand.” Which originated from this verse in Matthew: And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. -Matt. 12:25 Oh the blessed truths of God!

I tell my kids to hold hands when crossing the road, or to stick together in a crowd like at a beach or a busy store etc. There is strength in numbers. The early Greeks knew this to be true and used it as a battle technique. They would form a solid unit and move in a single motion against their enemies, and they were very successful! Remember the battle of Thermopylae in Sparta, Greece? (The movie 300 was based on this battle.) We are a solid unit. We are Christ’s people, and we worship as families, not individuals. Division is for math class. Blessings.