We are a fragmented nation, with fragmented leaders (official and otherwise), speaking fragmented messages that offer fragmented solutions with the promise of producing wholeness! Picking and choosing who to love, who to help and whose sins we will recognize and condemn is what has brought us to this point. Treating complex, involved issues by ignoring their context and putting hashtags on them will not make for a better world. Until we are ready to hear all the truth as it relates to all the people, we will remain fragmented. We must love all people, under all circumstances. Until we do this, we are simply treating symptoms.
We belong to each other! We live on the same planet. We breathe the same air. We have the same Father. We are part of the same family. What a difference it would make if we would remember that about each other before we thought about our differences.
For us to live with this understanding is what God desires. When Jesus talked of those who were strangers, hungry, homeless or hurting, He spoke of them as His “brothers and sisters” (Matthew 25:40). He showed solidarity with them because He recognized that whatever else they were, they were people first. They were part of the human family therefore they were part of His family.
This won’t solve all our problems by any means, but it is a productive place to start . It is an equally excellent place to return to regain our perspective.
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 