A couple weeks ago I wrote a blog (https://jryansmallwood.com/2016/06/30/is-it-dangerous/) about sending a prison inmate a Bible that he had requested. Just this past week I received a letter back from him that contained these words, “I want to thank you for the Bible. When mail call came I was sure it was a mistake since I never really get mail but it was God answering. God heard my call and provided me with the food I was truly needing.”

“…provided me with the food I was truly needing.” That declaration hung in the air like a balloon in the Macy’s Day Parade. I was scanning those words the day after the ambush on the Dallas police officers and the other tragedies that had taken place that week.  Struggling to make sense of the world we now live in, the hostility that divide us and how we find reconciliation, I understood the answer I was searching for was in the Bible laid out before me.  God is supplying the food we are truly needing.

Jesus Said Love is the Answer

One day when asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus’ response was simple: love God and love people (Matthew 22:37-40). Of all the commandments, Jesus said love rules supreme.  There are a lot of good commandments out there: don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t murder.  But Jesus said everything hinges on love. Love is the answer. Gun control is not the answer. A turnover on Capitol Hill or in the White House is not the answer. A new supreme court justice that will tilt rulings this way or that way is not the answer. Love is the answer.

Jesus Said Love Your Enemies

On another occasion, Jesus instructed us to love our enemies and pray for those who mistreat us (Matthew 5:43-44). Love our enemies? To hold dear those that we perceive to stand on the opposite side of the fence? To like those who believe differently than we do? Those who behave differently than we do? Those who vote differently than we do?  This means Republicans must love Democrats. Cowboy fans must love Eagle enthusiasts. Methodists must love Baptists. Whoa! I don’t necessarily have to believe what they believe; applaud for the team they applaud for or vote the way they vote.  I am just called to love them.

Jesus Said Love is How Others Will Know We Belong to Him

Read any poll of those who identify as not being connected to the church and their perception of Christians is that we are judgmental, condemning and hypocritical. Jesus said we should be known for our love but instead we are known for our puffed-up opinions. Does it mean that we are not called to share truth with a world that so desperately needs it?  Of course not! But the truth is best received in love.  We throw the word love around like candy at a small town parade yet when it comes right down to it we over promise and under deliver.

Jesus said, “Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another” (John 13:34-35, The Message). Thank goodness Jesus doesn’t wait for us to have it all together, believe the way we should or behave the way he instructed. Perhaps that’s the way He calls us to love?