Sword
The question has been asked, How can there be an agreement between the statement, "I came not to send peace, but a sword," and the song sung by the angels when Christ was born in the manger at Bethlehem, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men"? The song of the angels is in harmony with the words of the prophet Isaiah, who, when he predicted the birth of Christ, declared Him to be the Prince of peace. The gospel is a glorious message of peace and good will to men; the blessing that Christ came to bring was that of harmony and peace. He left His throne of glory, and clothed His divinity with humanity, that He might bring back from apostasy to loyalty to God the children of men, and bind their hearts together and to the heart of Infinite Love. He came to present to a fallen world the remedy for sin, so that whosoever should believe on Him should not perish, but by becoming one with Him and the Father should have everlasting life. In this way He establishes the Christian brotherhood, and unites His followers in one faith, -- faith in Him as their personal Saviour.
The condition of the world at the time when Christ came into the walks of men, was no exceptional condition. At that time the Scriptures had been buried beneath the traditions of men, and Christ declared that those who professed to interpret the word of God were ignorant both of the Scriptures and of the power of God. By misapplication and misinterpretation of the sacred oracles, the religious teachers had shut away the light that was to illuminate the precious utterances from heaven. Jesus revealed the pure truth in contrast with error, but those who professed to be teachers of truth in their own nation, not being accustomed to gaze upon truth, and not seeing in the divine Teacher that which they looked for of pomp and worldly splendour, turned from Him; for it was not purity of heart and life that they desired.
Christ presented to His countrymen and to the world brightness, beauty, and holiness, the divine nature, by which they might be bound close to the heart of Infinite Love; He brought light into the world to dispel spiritual darkness, and to reveal truth. But they would not receive the heavenly gift. The apostle inquires, "Who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth?" It is through the deceptive working of Satan that fatal delusions have been brought even into the religious world, and error and falsehood have been accepted instead of the light of truth. When light is rejected, darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people. Men professing the name of Christ have worked against His cause, and the blessing brought to men at infinite cost has been turned into a curse; for when truth is rejected because it is out of harmony with the corruption of the natural heart, it becomes a sword to destroy. The truth, which was to restore and renew, is a destroyer of evil; and when evil is persistently cherished, it becomes a destroyer of the sinner also.
BEcho, March 12, 1894