God Bless Us, Every One!

 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.                                 Colossians 3:12-17

Last night, I crossed something off my bucket list. I went to see a one man show of "A Christmas Carol" (my favorite book of all time), performed by Gerald Dickens, the great, great grandson of Charles Dickens. It was every bit as good as I had hoped it would be. I also had the chance to talk with Mr. Dickens for about 5 minutes or so, and it was a wonderful conversation. If you should ever have the chance, your should see him perform. It is well worth it.

I've loved "Christmas Carol" ever since I first saw the Alistair Sims movie version as a child. When I read the book as an adult, it's story hit me so strongly, I've read it at least once a year ever since. It has everything a story could want...Drama, Humor, Conflict, Resolution. But there is something more to this tale than the story itself. It questions the lives we lead, not just for ourselves, but with and for those around us. Closing ourselves up, rather than reaching out. Thinking we are keeping others out, so that pain cannot come in. In reality, closing the pain within our own walls, never letting it out.

In the closing Stave, Scrooge sees his redemption is in treating his fellow man with compassion and love. That is where the verses above, I think, take on such great meaning. The election season has been a brutal one, flaming the passions of many. That has just been the final torch light, however, to growing tensions and passions over the last few years, both in America and beyond. In our fight for our own selfish rights, we have often trampled on others, without even casting a glance down. Taking a stand is right, and necessary, but to do so as Christians ALSO requires " compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience...".We must " let the peace of Christ rule " in our hearts. Our peace, our healing, comes by loving as Christ has called us to love. Re-read those verses above. It does not call to deny your faith, nor does it call to ignore your beliefs. It says, in simplest terms, to love.

If we can bring ourselves to love others, as Jesus has loved us, then it will be truly said that we've kept Christ in our hearts, every day of the year. We will have turned to Him, and away from our wicked ways. And then at last, God will heal our land. God will bless us, every one.

The Problem with Hate

"We have so many battles going on in America today that we should be a people of prayer. Our leaders need prayer. Our schools need prayer. Our youth need our prayers. Our families need our prayers." - Billy Graham (in a Facebook post from Franklin Graham.)

My heart is extremely heavy this morning. I awoke to the news that at the end of what had been a peaceful demonstration, police officers were attacked in a vicious, organized military-like assault, creating a further divide in an already tense society. And it all stems from hate. Whether it is from distrust, fear or ignorance, it is still hate. This hate will not go away. It is a part of this world, and has been since Adam's fall. It was here before us, and will be here after us, unless Jesus returns to save us from ourselves.

There are those today who are blaming the media, saying its constant reporting is only making things worse. There are those on both sides of the gun control issue, each using this a "proof" of their position. There are even those using this as a political Republican/Democrat battle. I'll not go into the relevance of any of these issues, because they do not actually address the problem. The media is not the issue. Gun control is not the issue. Politics is not the issue. HATE is the issue. HATE is the target we should focus on. HATE is what we must fight.

I've long believed that right and just causes, when fueled by hate, are still wrong and unjust. If God is love as 1 John 4 states, then if follows (vs. 19-21) that anything fueled by hate is not of God. The beginning of this chapter states very clearly that the spirits are to be tested, because not everything is of God. Trouble is, there seems to be more rash judgments than testing of spirits going on.

Then how are we to battle the hate that is consuming our world at a more rapid and rabid pace that ever before. 1 John 4 contains a key to this as well.

"Greater is He in you that he that is in the world" (vs.4)

 

But we cannot use God as our own personal weapon of destruction, releasing a barrage on our enemies, raining fire from above. So then, what? Verse 7 contains that answer.

 

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God"

 

The only way the world will see anything but hate, is to show love, even to those undeserving. (Matthew 5: 43-48) Especially to those undeserving, because they need it most. Jesus cannot operate fully through His church unless His church operates through His love. Without love, all of our "good intentions" and "righteous causes" are no better than a noisy gong or clanging cymbal. (1 Corinthians 13)

 

So in response to the world today, I suggest first, we pray. Then, we reach out to all who are hurting, whose passion and fear and hate drive them on, and show them something revolutionary...love. God's unfailing love. In the fight against hate, this is the only weapon we truly have. The only weapon we need.

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.