On Wednesday of this week, I had a dream about division. Removing people from the fold. Pulling them out of the game

People will be asking “where are they?”

The spirit of division.  

If I have learned one thing about Christ, it is every time I draw a line to keep people “out” I look over to see Christ on the other side of the line with the very people I wanted to “keep out”. And to quote Erin Reagan, maybe the reason for the line being drawn in the sand is so you can erase it! 

1 Corinthians 1:10-13 ESV 

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 

 Division seems to be the way of the day, over the past few years. Because everyone has an opinion, all too often many feel that not agreeing or “agreeing to disagree” (God, help us! When people run around picking their battles, they have already approached it from a place of “war”.) is the way to go.  

Is Christ divided? That is Paul’s question. And perhaps one we need to look at.

In my dream I saw the “spirit of division” causing issues that allowed the enemy to “dislocate” people. To remove them from the presence of others. To get them distracted from the place of Christ and unity. And like sheep to the slaughter, they leave the safety of friends and family. 

I felt like I was watching the conversation between Lot and Abraham. Lot choosing the lusher, peaceful, comfortable place. We all know how that worked out… 

I awoke from this and lay there for a long time.

The enemy of our soul causes division. People just follow it. Like a general in battle he caused division. People began to go their own way. Or so they thought… 

And there was the deception. Rather than knowing that they were being led away, they just left. 

For the last few years, I have told people that social media was dividing us. I did not mean it was us doing the division, but that was the result. In an effort for social media, to keep people on, their algorithms were keeping parties apart over their values and beliefs. Without social media people would have conversations with one another and in many cases worked out their differences.  

Behind a screen, people became more outspoken because in many respects there was no way to “see” what was going on so people said “whatever” and began to operate outside of feedback. The algorithms made it easier to divide, to draw lines and to exclude. Steering people with their deceptions. I do not think it was inherently evil, but really began out of the desire to have “market share”. 

The results included the return of tribal thinking and greater disagreement and division began to arise. (Please remember, I am only talking about the spiritual implications, but it certainly can cross over into politics and more. And certainly those physical realms are the ones social media can monitor and control.) No longer were we one. While we began with “there is unity in diversity” it became clear that people soon wanted to be with their ilk, their kinds. (An Old Testament reference from Genesis.) 

And the slide began. People soon began to be splintered, divided, and broken. 

Romans 16:17-18 ESV 

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 

This is the realm the church can work in. That they can labor in. I saw a post of a bunch of men with Bibles in their hands. Christ was speaking to them. “You read the scriptures to learn how to love, I love to know how to read the scriptures.” 

Hmmm… 

The enemy has removed boundaries and made them walls.  

As the dream continued I saw cattle in two large pens. One group crowing about how they had left the others behind and “boy, didn’t it feel good to be free”.  The other group in a pen not visible to the others, boasting about how they had won, “good bye and good riddance to them”. 

What neither of them saw was that both trails from each place lead to the same “slaughterhouse” or abbatoir. The word abbatoir means “fell”. 

There is a “falling” coming and I believe it is a shakeup that we could avoid. An opportunity now, that we could embrace. 

I am reminded of the tribes and decisions. Joshua still counted them Israel, and the 3 tribes Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh fought alongside the others. 

While God is calling us together, people are using offence, politics and more as a reason to divide.  

I say to you in all humility, beware the spirit of division and the accompanying thinking. Be careful what you place as an idol(s) over the Christ and His commandment to love. 

It is not the first time, people called out for a king, or built a golden calf out of fear. 

As I sit here at a table of communion, I recognize the body of Christ.