nearly a year ago, i sat in my church on a friday night, and watched a play about depression and suicide ... two of the hardest topics to discuss and yet the last four words of his show almost moved me to tears ...
"will there be enough?" enough of what? food? shelter? water? yes, all of those things, and yet still there is another one. will there be enough love? in a time of such hatred and oppression, will there be enough love to go around? out of 6.9 billion people in this world, approximately 2.2 million of us are christians. that means almost one third of the world's population is christian. what would happen if we truly showed the love of Jesus to every person we met, regardless of any physical differences? in my bible reading this morning, there was a verse that said: "a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough (gal. 5:9) at first, you might think this is just a baking metaphor. and yes, it can be, but it describes something more. it describes us. we as christians are the yeast. the world is our dough. our job is to unite the world using the tools we have been given through Jesus as christians ... love, trust, friendship, and most importantly, his word. there can always be more love in the world. don't let differences get in the way.
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in the face of evil, it is easy to shrink away. to see news of shootings, riots, and violence, and say "there's nothing we can do. it's the government's problem - they're the ones who make the rules." true, yes, but we have a greater weapon than the government. the government has legislation, but we, as christians, have the power of god. who can do "immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine" (eph. 3:20). it is not a secret that prayer can work miracles. turn stone-cold hearts into ones of warmth and full of god's love.
if we are truly following god, then nothing can stand in our way. spreading the news of god's love and salvation should be a blessing, an opportunity that we take advantage of on a daily basis, at least. "do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid." (john 14:27). we are united. god's army can only get bigger. darkness cannot overcome light. be. the. light. when you think about christmas, it's easy to first think about the material things. the presents that need to be bought, the food that needs to be prepared, the christmas decorations hung up around the house.... and while christmas is all that, isn't it something more?
the wisemen were poor when they came to baby jesus on this holy night oh so many years ago. they gave what they could, and mary and joseph were thankful for what they received. after all, where was jesus born? "a stable, for there was no room for them in the inn." mary and joseph graciously accepted what was offered to them, and did not whine or complain. they knew this baby was an extraordinary being, that was sent to save the world. saving the world didn't mean being born into extravagant wealth. saving the world meant that this baby wouldn't live out a full life on earth, and mary and joseph gave the ultimate gift. they sacrificed their son to save the world. it's easy to get caught up in the material side of christmas. i have done it myself. but tonight, on the holiest of nights, and tomorrow, the holiest of days, remember the true gift of baby jesus, mary, and joseph, and give praise for the miraculous story that is christmas. the baby born in a stable and laid to rest in a manger that saved us all. because that is truly what we should be celebrating. darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. - mlk jr.
love. only love has the power to drive out hate, darkness, cruelty. honestly? it's hard to put these feelings into words. i don't want to put these feelings into words because frankly, it shouldn't even be a reality. i'm going to be real here for a minute. this violence and hatred? it gets you nowhere at the end of the day. you're still, if not even more, divided than when you began. love is what brings people together. loving, as jesus first loved us, and asks us to love each other in return, is how we are taught. ingrained in us as small children, we are not taught to fight back when someone harms us. that love teaches us to turn the other cheek, forgive them for what they did, showing them love every step of the way. not hate. brothers and sisters in christ, it may seem like there is not much you can do. trust me, i feel the same way. but i know, now more than ever, that there is so much more that you can do than you might think. this is for certain ... love goes a long way. jesus showed us that time and time again in the bible. and love? certainly gets you much further than hate. "dear friends, since god so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 john 4:11 "but love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting anything in return. then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the most high, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked." luke 6:35 at first glance, the word perfection might not mean much. staying up late to make sure a paper is just the way you want it to be, perfecting a sport ... doing something to the point where you know that messing up is just physically impossible. perfection ... it's kind of a scary thing.
today, i babysat for a friend of my family, and the girl was practicing her gymnastics moves. enthralled by the new trick she had just learned, she exclaimed, oh so excitedly, "i need to have it perfect by the time mommy gets home!" and here we go again ... perfection. part of me encouraged this girl to follow through with her determination, while the other part of me wanted to say, "but it's ok if you don't quite reach perfection. your mommy will love you regardless." i don't know why i didn't say that to her, because perfection is, or at least i think, a terrible thing. i later received an email which said, "jesus didn't die for the mask, he died for you. what i mean is, a lot of us are wearing some type of mask. we are projecting who we want to be or the image that will protect us." it was so good to have that reminder, that masks aren't who we are, nor should they be. nobody is perfect, nor should they be. we all have our downfalls, just like we all have our strengths. they make us who we are, they make us who we should be known as ... our characteristics. our society makes perfection seem like a requirement, as if you have to be perfect to fit in. jesus died to refute that, and he, along with everyone else, will love you the same regardless. take off the mask ... you will love the truth so much more. nearly a year ago, i sat in my church on a Friday night and watched a play about depression and suicide ... two of the most depressing topics, and yet the actor said something that really encouraged me. towards the end of his performance, he said four words. four words that can mean the world, and almost made me cry because of their meaning.
"will there be enough?" at first glance, one might think ... enough of what? food? water? shelter? well, yes, all of those things are important. but he meant love. possibly the most important concept to all people, and yet it seems, often times there isn't enough. so many people who do not know the love of Jesus, the loving touch of a friend, neighbor, or family member. aren't we called to show Jesus' love to everyone we meet? out of 6.9 billion people in this world, approximately 2.2 billion of us are christians. almost a third of the world's population identifies as christian, and yet, there are so many people who don't know love, who haven't experienced it. out of all all of the catastrophic events that happen in our world today ... what if those people had been shown more love? what if they had known jesus? in my bible reading this morning, i came across a verse that said: "a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." (gal. 5:9) at first, you think ... this is a verse about baking. and while it can be, there is more to it. us as christians are the yeast. the world is our dough. we are called to bring the world together, showing love, compassion, and spreading God's truth to everyone we meet, regardless of whether or not they are christians themselves. don't let physical differences keep you from being the hands and feet of jesus. you don't know who needs that love the most. in Touring Choir this year, we are singing a song called, "Do Not Be Afraid." the first time we sang this song in a concert, i nearly started sobbing, because i knew that this song would mean something great to me, but i didn't know exactly how much, and maybe i still don't. but this i do know, this song has impacted me in more ways than i could possibly know.
"do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name ... you are mine. when you walk through the waters, i'll be with you ... you will never sink beneath the waves. when the fire is burning all around you, you will never be consumed by the flames. do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name ... you are mine. when the fear of loneliness is looming, then remember I am at your side. when you dwell in the exile of a stranger, remember you are precious in my eyes. do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you ... you are mind. you are mine, o my child, and I love you ... I love you with a perfect love. do not be afraid for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name ... you are mine." before one of our concerts, a senior mentioned the importance of the line, "when you dwell in the exile of a stranger, remember you are precious in my eyes." for a lot of them, that line will soon be coming true, but it's also true for so many people in our community today ... that really hit me -- just how much of an impact this song can have. there are so many people fighting for their lives, their opportunity to stay in this country to have a better life ... they're the ones putting up a good fight. in my devotional tonight, i read the verse 2 Timothy 2:5, which says, "god doesn't want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible." there it was again, as the same song popped into my head. if we're shy and quiet, we won't further the kingdom. but instead, we need to be bold, loving, and sensible in order to get anywhere. at the same time, we may find ourselves in the exile of a stranger, or being ridiculed for our beliefs. it takes a lot to be courageous and speak out ... trust me, i know. but if we ever hope for change or to make a difference, sometimes all it takes is a single voice ... more will join you. when god created the world, he knew we weren't going to be perfect. he knew that we would screw up, that we would all do things that we would regret, beginning with adam and eve in the garden. god doesn't call us to be perfect. in fact, he knows that's impossible for us to be. he calls the broken which means he calls each of us.
after the flood waters parted and noah stepped out of the ark with his family, god called noah to build an altar. at that altar, god met each person. he met each person in their struggle, and called them to something greater than themselves. he knew that each person coming to that altar would be broken, but he still used them. he looked beyond their brokenness and into their hearts -- something greater than we could ever think or do. romans 12: 1-2 - "offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to god - this is your true and proper worship. do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind and spirit. then you will be able to test and approve what god's will is - his good, pleasing, and perfect will." good. pleasing. perfect. come to the altar. god knows what each of us is going through, and still calls us to do his will on earth. he will meet you in your struggle. selfless courage. two words that at first glance, mean so little, but pack a huge punch. at the beginning of 2016, my youth group decided to be selflessly courageous for the year, and see how our lives changed. it's not an easy thing, to be selflessly courageous. to be honest, i hardly thought about it until 2017 rolled around, and our leader asked, "so, how did you show selfless courage this year?" and i thought to myself, "oh shoot." but the truth is, i did show selfless courage. just not in the way i thought i would.
by now, it's well into 2017. it was time to pick a new "theme" for the year, but i decided to stick with selfless courage. and yesterday, i experienced true selfless courage for the first time. yesterday, i was given the great opportunity to march with 500,000 other women and men in washington dc. we came together, flooding subway car after subway car, filling every cramped space with as many people as humanly possible. and in the midst of all the chaos deemed pointless to many, we made a statement. we showed washington dc what friendly and peaceful truly looks like. although the city was teeming with neon-green-vested police officers ready to combat whatever chaos might ensue, each person showed kindness and friendliness to every person throughout the day. filling the city with sign after sign inviting in peace and love, 500,000 of us marched through the street without a single incident. we all came for different reasons, yet all seemed to unite for a common purpose: change. good change. whatever that may be ... whether love, friendliness, peace. that's up for interpretation. we all showed love, received love, and want to see more love, in a world filled with so much hatred and violence. it's amazing how much you can learn from a child, standing on stage, shouting into a microphone at the top of her lungs, "si, se puede, si se puede... yes we can, yes we can." and it's true ... we can. the world needs more love, and we can be the ones to spread it. photo: Alexandra Brovco
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