The People We Never Were

"Once again IN MEMORIAM. And In Memoriam  for the people we used to be."
- Bette Midler

     The quote above was sent out following the recent Orlando, Florida club shootings, accompanied by a picture of a wreath of white lilies. And I sighed a little, wishing for a sometimes remembered time that was not filled with what seems to be daily tragedies, and the horrific treatment of our fellow humans on this earth, God's beloved creations.

     But as I longed for those past times, I realized my remembrance may be false. Mankind's ability to group itself into categories has been for thousands of years, and its ability to cast judgment on all other categories but its own for only a few days shorter. Judgment creates self-importance, and self-importance, when confronted, creates hate. And hate has been around since the dawn of time.

     The only real difference I see is not the depth of the hatred there (it has always been deep), but the extremely volatile nature it has taken on. More and more, people wear their hate just under the surface of their skin. More and more this thin layer of skin is being exposed, ripped off, with its evil pus spewing out.

     We have tried to conquer hate with logic, with civility, with avoidance, even with laws. Nothing has worked. The only way this sickness can be cured, the only way to become the people, and the country we like to remember ourselves to be, is with Love.

     And not just any love. Not a love of live and let live, that is avoidance. Not a love that looks down on others, that is judgment. The love that will restore us is God. Only He sees us, not in separate categories, not in cliques, but as His children, His creation. ALL fallen, ALL loved-equally. NONE worthy, but ALL loved - equally.

     It is only when we share God's love with each other, that things will change.No walls, just love No judgment (all of us should be judged, because we all fail.), just love. The free, undeserved, unrestricted Love of God, through us. Until then we will never be "the people we used to be." Because we never were. But we can be.