Gal 3:7-14 / Lk 11:15-26
There’s a powerful line in scripture that says, “If God is with us, who can be against?” A powerful saying, indeed, because God is always with us and for us. There’s just one problem: Too often we’re not with God, at least not entirely. There’s something in us that makes us flee from definitive choices. Given a list of mutually exclusive options, our preferred choice all too frequently is “all of the above,” which, of course, can never work.
We can’t board the plane for Alaska and the boat for Bermuda at the same time. We can’t give our heart to one person in marriage and then continue actively exploring the alternatives. We have to choose. In every part of life, we have to decide what our commitments will be; and that starts with the biggest commitment of all: To whom shall I ultimately give my heart? Everything else will flow from that, but what if that key commitment is ambivalent or half-hearted? What will happen to the rest of me?
Luke gives the answer in today’s gospel, which was quoted more than a century ago by Abraham Lincoln: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
So we have some choices to make, all of them hinging on the great choice: To whom shall I give my heart? Will it be God or just one of his many little creatures? If you’re tempted to stall, just keep in mind Jesus’ warning: “Whoever is not with me is against me.” That does cut through the fog and set things clear: It’s time to go with him, wholeheartedly, and get a life.
