Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.** Psalms 86:11 (NIV)**
Division causes falls in buildings, in homes, in lives. Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:25 (NIV): Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.” King David, the man after God’s own heart, tells his son Solomon prior to the building of the temple these wise words which we ourselves should adhere to in 1 Chronicles 28:9-10 (NIV): “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.” Again, it behooves us to listen and to heed this advice as presently - as believers in sweet Jesus - our bodies are the temples of the living God through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. It is God’s desire and plan for us to build ourselves up in Him Who is the Head. We were chosen to build, to be strong and to do the work. And we were not to remain the same – mere infants in Christ tossed along by every wind of teaching - rather we are to grow up in Him Who is the Head. Becoming more and more like Jesus and less and less like us. All through His power and for His glory.
So how are we doing in this? Do we look more and more like Jesus and less and less like us? Are we pointing others to Him by walking as He walked through His power and for His glory? This is a building process and one that continues on until we are at home with the Lord. And division within our beings halts our progress – choosing to live like the world or like the Savior. As the Holy Spirit points things out in our lives we are to effectively deal with them through His indwelling power. And if we are still here, He is still working on us. His end goal, John tells us, is to look more and more like the Lord Jesus and less and less like us. 1 John 2:6 (NIV) states: “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” It is no wonder in all four Gospels we are told to deny self, take up our crosses and follow Him.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. Matthew 16:24-27 (NIV)