My spirit is heavy
and I am so saddened by the passing of Amendment One in NC yesterday. I hurt
for my state and all of those who will be affected by it. I will continue to
stand for equality with my brothers and sisters.
But my heart is
broken for my country... my heart is broken for the hatred I have seen on
my Facebook wall and read in blogs and internet sites. My heart is broken
for the name calling and the attacking of one another. As we create a deeper,
wider divide between "us and them," my heart breaks and I remember
a prayer spoken from another a long time ago, "may they all be one, just
as you, Father, are in me, and I am in you, that they also may be in us, so
that the world may believe that you have sent me." (John 17:21). I
remember that Jesus allowed himself, willingly, to be tortured and killed, and he did not lash out with hate or name calling. No, he said, "Father,
forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34). And
when he was resurrected, when he won, he did not rub it into the faces of those
who were against him. No, he loved them. Because he knew who the real enemy was
and he defeated him. No matter how many
times we wedge something between us and another, Jesus Christ died for all of
us and through Christ, through the cross, through the Spirit, we are one.
Justice is not
retaliation - justice too easily becomes injustice. Justice… no. Not
without reconciliation, understanding, and compassion! It takes time and
patience to achieve equal rights in this country. It took over a century for
African Americans. It took decades or longer for women. We will not stop. But
we must not forget that we are all One. We must not forget that justice belongs
to God!
To everyone, I ask,
stop judging! Stop pointing fingers. Stop using the Bible against each other!
Hatred is not the way of the cross. Hatred is not the way that Christ has
called us - "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another
just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." John
14:34. Did we think this would be easy?
Have we forgotten who we were made to be? Have we forgotten the following
verse? "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you
have love for one another." John 14:35.
The real enemy is
not your brother or sister. The children of God are not your enemies! Our
enemy is evil itself, which seeks to
divide us, to drive us against one another, to fill us with hate for each
other. Our enemy is fear. Perfect love
casts out fear. Choose love!
Today, I am not
ashamed to be American. I am not ashamed to love North Carolina. I am not
ashamed of my vote. I am not ashamed of the cross. I am not ashamed of Christ.
I am ashamed of the hatred I discovered in my own heart. We should all, "for" and "against," be
ashamed of ourselves for the hatred and pride in our hearts
I am encouraged by some posts and updates I'm seeing online this morning. Please, everyone,
however you voted and however you choose to move forward, stop hating, stop
retaliating. Please, choose to embrace, choose grace, choose forgiveness,
choose repentance, choose love. Then, with reconciliation being our goal, in
compassion, we can seek equality and justice for ALL, placing our hope in the day when we will all be finally and completely reconciled together with our God.
