"You have heard the law that says, 'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that?" Matthew 5:43-46a (NLT)
Some weeks I find it difficult to write these articles. At times it is because I have trouble forming my thoughts and others, like this week, there is so much swirling around in my head that I feel overwhelmed as I look for a place to start. With all the happenings in our country, such as the proceedings in our congressional halls, my heart is heavy as I witness the enmity between our elected officials and the divisions occurring in our citizenry. I find no particular person or group at fault, rather I am reminded that we have a clear example to follow and our Creator's divine direction as to how to treat one another.
Because we all have minds of our own and free wills to choose as we wish, there will never be a time of total unity based on our perceptions of the world. We have two parties that dominate our political arena and we hear daily of their clashes on how this country should be run. Most of us have chosen one or the other to align ourselves with though we may have some disagreement with various proposals that they make. Sadly it seems that the current trend is to vilify those whose political opinions differ from our own and when we do that we forget the grace that was showered upon us by the Lord and the instructions He gave to love one another.
My daughter and I have had to learn that discussing our political views is not expedient for our relationship. We each have very strong viewpoints and sharing them with each other inevitably leads to hurt feelings for one or both of us. I love her far too much to allow opinions about temporal issues to come between us. That love is precious and to be protected.
When Jesus left Heaven, He came for all of us. When He gave up His life on the cross, it was for everyone. He made no distinction between persons when He took on the sins of the world. Nor does He now. His command to us is to love one another. How can we do that if we are allowing worldly ideas to color how we see our neighbor?
As we go through this week, let's agree to pray for those in high profile positions who are able to set the tone for a nation that is watching. Then, let us examine our own hearts and thoughts. If we have allowed our opinions to hinder how we love those around us, then may we fall to our knees and ask the Father's forgiveness. What is most important is that every ear hears about Jesus and that we love in His name. God bless.
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