My heart is so sad as I think about the tragic death of a young man in Frisco, Texas. The families of both Austin Metcalf and Karmelo Anthony will never be the same. I have also been deeply saddened by the rhetoric from some people on both sides. Please read the rest of this blog before you condemn my statement. Sadly the previous sentence might actually be too late for so many respondents.
I remembered a duet from Mandisa and TobyMac that touched me deeply. They addressed the heartbreaking issue of political division that affects our culture and often impacts the church.
These lyrics immediately grabbed my heart.
Are you left?
Are you right?
Pointing fingers, taking sides
When are we gonna realize?
We all bleed the same
We’re more beautiful when we come together
We all bleed the same
So tell me why, tell me why
We’re divided.
Why indeed? Martin Luther King Jr taught us that hateful rhetoric never, ever, ever changes a heart.
Followers of Christ have a message of hope and light that is desperately needed. But we can get caught up in the politics of our world and snuff out that light. I have been guilty of that in my journey at times. I pray it will not happen again.
I fear our culture will get darker in the days and months ahead. Followers of Christ have to make a decision. We can decide to complain that Christians are no longer respected and valued in the culture. Or we can decide to show the kind of kindness, forgiveness, grace, and love that early Christians demonstrated to change a hostile culture. Christianity really functions best as the underdog. We can ask God to give us the strength and grace to be a light in the darkness.
Perhaps the fact that grace and forgiveness are rare commodities in this society is a big reason we see such anger and hopelessness.
Our natural reaction to those who denigrate our faith is to strike back. Jesus knew this would happen and He had some very radical instructions.
“But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (Luke 6:27-28, NET)
I wonder what God could do if we followed those words? And if we remembered that we all created in the image of God but our different experiences and stories can divide us. They don’t have to. The song lyrics have grace filled insight.
If we’re gonna fight
Let’s fight for each other
If we’re gonna shout
Let love be the cry
We all bleed the same
So tell me why, tell me why
We’re divided
My prayer is that we do not focus on the multitude of political issues that divide us but on the one healing name that can unite us.
Jesus.
His blood was shed on the Cross for all races. If we believe that then why are we divided? We don’t need to be if we keep our eyes on the Cross.
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