That Guy

 

For this is the love of God: that we keep his commandments. And his commandments do not weigh us down  1 John 5: 3

Tomorrow is Juneteenth. For many of us, this is a new and little understood holiday, but in reality, it is likely the longest running African-American holiday, dating back to 1866. It celebrates the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation, moving towards the end of slavery in America. Celebrations often include readings of the Emancipation Proclamation and works by noted African-American writers like Ralph Ellison and Maya Angelou, singing traditional songs like “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” and, of course, lots of food!

At such a sweet celebration, you would think love would abound. You would think that God’s people would show up in full force to love on their community and represent the Father in the world. Maybe in some areas they do, but in the Pacific Northwest I’m afraid it’s a different story. Every year my daughter goes into Seattle for the celebration with her friends and a guy like this (see the picture below) shows up. This is the Jesus that is represented to the young people of our community. It’s no wonder that in a recent survey the Seattle-Tacoma area was found to be the least churched area of the entire country. Who would want to go to church with a guy like that?

That picture was actually taken on my kids’ college campus, where guys like that also show up semi-randomly. When my son sent it to me, I asked him to go up to the guy and tell him that Jesus loves him. I’ll be honest, my heart was not entirely for showing God’s love to the guy, I wanted my son to know that what the guy was saying wasn’t an accurate representation of the heart of the Father. Maybe, I was being a little snarky too. He politely declined but did let me know that a local Lutheran pastor had set up a table across the path with juice and cookies telling the students that Jesus did, indeed, love them. I’m so very thankful for that pastor. I’m kind of thankful for the kid in the background of the picture too.

Yes, I think it’s important that people be freed from enslavement to sin, but I think that the way God showed us, commanded us to do it, is through love, not hate. We are to meet people where they are at and love them. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict them of sin, not ours. My heart is broken that my kids have encountered messages like this that have confused their image of God, but I know the seeds that He planted through us as they were growing up are still there and He will water and grow them in His perfect timing.

Here's the Thing: I can’t control other people, but I can love them. Even the mean ones. It’s not always easy, and love doesn’t always look the same. Love doesn’t always agree, and love doesn’t always support. But love always loves.

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