But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.
Jude 20–21, ESV
It is easy to become caught up in the divisions that arise in the world, but we, who belong to Christ, are called to be set apart and live differently than the people of the world. We aren’t supposed to remove ourselves from the world, but being set apart, we will appear and act differently than those of the world. We are meant to engage everything differently, including our way of dealing with those who desire to create conflict. That does not mean that we are simply nice, but we are meant to stand clearly in the Word and engage in a way that allows us to be angry but not sinful. Our anger is meant to be centered in the ways of God, i.e., we can be angry when people mock our faith or do things meant to desecrate places set apart for our faith, like Jesus in the Temple. Otherwise, our calling is meant to build up ourselves and other believers in the love and the faith of Jesus Christ. We must not let those who do not trust or believe in the Lord distract us from the eternal blessings of God and darken our hearts, but be filled in the Lord’s love that He has given us.
Let us pray. I thank you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, your dear Son, that you have kept me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you to protect me this day also from sin and every evil, that in all I do today, I may please you. For into your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel watch over me, that the wicked foe have no power over me. Amen.