You know something that is really hard? Loving people who are different from you. Yeah, I said it. It's one of the hardest things I've had to face this past month of developing an understanding of people that are different than I.
Like my brother, who does not share in the same world views as I do. He is hard to love to be honest. Or the Somali people that make up a huge portion of Minnesota and are overlooked and struck down for their faith in Islam. These people are hard to love. Why do I struggle so much with loving people that are different than I am? Didn't God make us all in His image? Shouldn't I love everyone as Jesus did? The answer to all of these questions is 'YES' my friends. We, as Christians, are called to love everyone, especially those who are different than us. Something that is so darn hard to do. I don't want to love people that are different than me because frankly they are different than me and it's hard for me to relate to them. So how do we go about doing this? Well, I'm still working on that and don't want to stop working on it. One of the many things I learned from my experience at Urbana was learning to love those who are different than me because they were made beautifully in God's image. Standing up for our brothers and sisters who struggle because of their race or religion in the US is especially important. I learned that it is important to know other peoples history and want to learn more about who they are as individuals. I want to love African Americans and Muslims and Japanese and Somali and all peoples well. I think the first step in doing so is recognizing the darkest of things in our own hearts and that my friends is racism. I grew up in it. Unintentionally, I grew up to be racist. As a white 20 something female in a small farm town, I grew up to be racist. Recognizing this and admitting it a few years ago really broke my heart. I don't want to be racist. I don't want to see people as lesser than I. How could this have happened? I felt so horrible having to admit this to myself and recognize it enough to finally put a stop to this trend. I don't want to rewrite history by giving in to this racism and taking part in it any longer. Thus, I have decided to welcome all who are different than I as my brothers and sisters because that is how God intended it. The beauty of differences in race and religion is that each time we meet someone new we get to learn their own personal story. Isn't that just the coolest? I think so! When I think about Jesus and his disciples, heck even his friends, I think, 'wow, Jesus really loved everyone so deeply He looked past their malicious behavior and welcomed them as His own.' This is who I want to become more like folks. An individual who isn't afraid of the prostitute of the tax collector but rather welcomes them into their home is who I want to be. I encourage you to love those who are different from you as well. The differences are what make us beautiful.
0 Comments
Something I have been really struggling with lately is trying to discern everything that happened at Urbana. Urbana is a missions conference that takes place in St. Louis, MO only every three years through InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA/Canada and IFES. This conference gave me a whole new perspective for Christianity and how to more individualize my faith. This conference literally changed my life and a lot of views I had before on a lot of topics.. if that makes any sense at all. It might start to as I continue to discern God's voice through all of the things I learned. I am going to start writing daily about my experience at Urbana starting with short topics. So, here it goes. The first topic I am going to talk about is persecution.
These past few weeks have felt empty and hard but then I am reminded of my time at Urbana where I learned about the persecuted church. Something I never thought about before. The persecuted church. Now, when I first heard of this term, persecuted church, I didn't really know what it was referring to. I'm afraid it is as horrible as it sounds, my friends. Persecuted according to google is defined by "subject (someone) to hostility and ill-treatment, especially because of their race or political or religious beliefs." When I refer to persecuted church I mean a church who is subject to hostility and ill-treatment because of their religious beliefs. My heart cries for churches that are persecuted against for wanting to believe in the same things I am free to believe here in the United States. Man, to think of individuals who are persecuted against for their faith breaks my heart. At Urbana 2015, I learned so much about the persecuted church and the persecutor. It is extremely crucial for me and those who believe in Jesus Christ to pray and pray hard for those who have no voice in the Church. I never realized how important it was to pray for those who are persecuted against. I never really thought about the persecuted church before. I realized how important it is to pray for those who are persecuted against so they may see redemption and come out of persecution. But something I didn't think I would have ever learned was how to love the persecutor. After my experience at Urbana, I found myself thinking about all of the individuals who are persecuted against and how it leads us to hate the persecutor. A lot of people hate the persecutor but someone who doesn't, is Jesus, who loves all. Even the most horrific of individuals have redemptive qualities, don't cha think? We spent one of the nights during Urbana not only praying for the persecuted Christians but also the persecutors, that they may find salvation in Jesus Christ. As I wept that night thinking of all the people who have been tortured and killed for standing up for the name of Jesus, I wept even harder knowing that the persecutors need so badly to feel the love of Jesus. These individuals are what have drawn me to pray deeply and wholeheartedly for both the persecuted and the persecutor. So my friends, I challenge you this week to pray and pray hard for the persecuted churches across the world who are struck down for believing in the truth of Jesus but I also challenge you to love the persecutor. The persecutor who denies Jesus' truth and has hate in their hearts. Pray that their hearts may soften with the love of Christ. One of the most powerful things we can do is pray. There is so much power in prayer. |
Let us Seek the Grandest Adventures Together my Friend.
I heard the roar of the lion of Judah Archives
June 2017
Categories
|