living loved

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. – Galatians 3:28

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, ” I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well. – Luke 7:9

There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism. – Romans 2: 9-11

I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. – Isaiah 42:6-7

My heart has been heavy this week. There is so much unrest, so much hate, so many dividing opinions. In a world of unrest, it can be tough to find peace or make sense of it all. My own heart questioned so many things. My students have so many differing opinions and more often than not, many of them expressed concern with religion and a “faith” war. As I carried a lot of this home with me and as I went to sleep in my safe and protected home free of terror and the whistle of bombs, I was overwhelmed with grief: overwhelmed for the families losing their loved ones, overwhelmed by the division and opposition, overwhelmed by the hate that can manifest in a human heart to do such atrocities to another human – overwhelmed.

Through conversation with my own bearded beauty, we talked about the world. We talked about the division. We talked about how we all need to do better. We talked about love. We talked about God’s 400 years of silence. We talked about the people who wrote the bible. We talked about interpretation. We talked about how this world – all people – needed and NEED the savior. We talked about how His love is perfect and endless and has no contingencies. His perfect love. His perfect love that is for the Jew and the Gentile. His perfect love is for male and female. His perfect love is for slave and free. His perfect love is so perfect that none of these divisions even exist – for we are all one in Christ Jesus.

Hate is ugly. Division is ugly. Pride is ugly. Sin is ugly. Sin grieves the Father. These things are not His will – this is the free will of man. This is the ugliness of the human heart without the true love and will of the Father. As I sought God’s heart in this, one thing that stuck out above the rest is that God is faithful. God’s plan is not our plan. God’s will is not our will. Who can understand the will of the Father? Not one.

Prayer. Peace. Hope. Love. Seek the will of the Father. Pray for those facing persecution. Be the light. Love.

XOXO, Loni