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Brother Against Brother



"A man's enemies will be the members of his own household."
-Matthew 10:21

Growing up you are innocent. You are blind to the greater evils in the world. You believe that those who love you shall never turn on you nor forsake you. Then one day you wake up and your an adult and you find that those people whom you trusted most; those family members and dearest friends have become your worst enemies. How does this happen? Why does this happen? I've been trying to answer these questions for months. Only now do I think I know why "brother turns against brother" (Matthew 10:21) and why those we love become our adversaries. The answer is that the "devil is working overtime." The great falling away from the faith has begun.

When we think of falling away from the faith, we think of backsliders or people who have abandoned following Christ. However, the definition of faith is trust. So could this verse be re-interpreted as the Great Falling Away from Trust? That we can no longer trust our brothers or sisters or even parents? That the devils have so deceived our brethren and gotten them to distrust God that they become untrustworthy to us? This I believe is a valid interpretation. If believers cease putting their faith in God, they then cannot be trusted by those believers who do put their faith in God. Timothy, The Disciple of the Apostle Paul puts it best, "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons." (1 Timothy 4:1, NIV).

There is no greater heartbreak than to have someone you love, someone you trust betray you and become your enemy. Perhaps this is why Jesus said, "Love thy enemies." (Matthew 5:44). Maybe our Savior knew that those who would become our enemies would end up being family and friends. The heart break is surreal. It transcends any anguish of losing a loved one or breaking up with a potential mate. In those circumstances you have little control. With the death of loved one, you know that it was their time. For the lover you intended to marry, there was risk that it wouldn't work out. But with family and closest friends you don't suspect death or the risk of them abandoning you. It's akin to an ambush, you feel as if in a fog trying to understand what is going on.

Thankfully there is hope. We have one who will never "leave us or forsake us (-or betray us)." (Hebrews 13:5). We have a loving Lord and Savior that would never break trust or turn on us. Jesus Christ is the only person whom we can truly trust and expect to love us unconditionally. We must cling to him and put our faith in only him. Then he will send us a new family. New friends and brothers and sisters who we can trust. And even if they should fail, we will prevail by remembering that our chief faith is in Christ and that he won't let us down or abandon us now.

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