Brian and I finished filming my part of the worship service yesterday afternoon. As we came back into the office, our news feeds were blowing up with the violent circumstances unfolding in Washington. I became transfixed the rest of the day watching as our halls of freedom were stormed, our elected representatives were rushed away to places of safety, and over and again I heard people say, “This is not who we are.” Yet, that was us. Violent, angry, divided people of our country who were living the consequences of choosing darkness over light, oppression over freedom, violence over reconciliation, hate over love.
And...it can’t be us who claim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We, who worship the Prince of Peace and the One who gave himself up to give us another way to live. If our faith is to mean anything right now it must mean everything - how we conduct ourselves, how we speak, what we value. We cannot compartmentalize our belief in Jesus and separate it from every other area of our life. It is who we are and who we are called to be.
The greatest pain I felt yesterday was when I saw a huge banner being waved that said Jesus. NO. Don’t do that. Don’t wave a banner with His name and then storm the Capitol causing destruction and death. That is not who disciples of Jesus Christ are to be. Jesus said it best - Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another (John 13:34).
I’m angry. I’m overwhelmingly disappointed and sad. And...help me, Jesus, to love anyway. That must be who I am and who we are. This must be us. It will be.
See you online Sunday,
Lori
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