You would think that any person seeking to follow and imitate Jesus Christ, the "Prince of Peace" (Isa. 9:6), would find harmony and tranquility with everyone in their journey. Not so. Any time heaven touches earth, since that day in the Garden of Eden when man rebelled against the will and way of God, conflict erupts.

The world system (Gr. kosmos) is temporarily Satan's organization. The operating principles are force, greed, selfishness, ambition, and pleasure. Every one of these principles is diametrically opposed to God's principles, which are humility, self-sacrifice, service at one's own expense, and always seeking the good and welfare of others before oneself.

When Jesus appointed His twelve apostles and instructed them, He said, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--a man's enemies will be the members of his own household'" (Matt. 10:34-36).

Was there to be intentional conflict? No, but as people chose to follow Christ and trust Him, every vestige of worldly and human-engineered support would hinder, not help.

Whenever a person owns allegiance to Jesus Christ first, then every other person must be put in second place. No matter how spiritual a family seems to be, allegiance to Christ and the ensuing actions of the Christ-follower will be misunderstood and eventually divisive when what seems to be something for the common good is laid aside for a higher calling.

Most people reject the worldly principles of force, but we still have our ways of reaching a level of comfort and ease that sets us up to protect what we have achieved. And when we get there, we are never more like the devil than when we strive to keep what we have accumulated.

The principles of Christ and the principles of the world cannot co-exist. As Jesus walked the earth, His followers kept asking when He would assume power and take over. Even among themselves, there was the dispute about which one was the greatest and which ones would have the most standing in the new kingdom. Jesus kept differentiating between what the Gentiles seek and what a Christ-follower should seek (Matt. 6:25-33).

The bottom line is that every true Christ-follower will meet opposition from where they least expect it. The opposition comes first from within us, as we must choose against ourselves to pick up the cross of Christ and follow Him. Comfort, ease, and well wishers will be left behind as we truly seek to serve the crucified and resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.

The audience of cheerleaders for the Christ-follower will not be here on earth but in heaven, where there is "rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:10).

Followers of Christ will meet opposition from the established ways of the world, but they must persevere for that which will be theirs at the end of the journey. The Apostle Paul knew about this, and he said, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Cor. 2:9).