Not Politics, Not the Media: Only God Can Reconcile the Peoples of the Earth

Like many of you, my heart was broken and saddened by the abominable evils we witnessed in Charlottesville ... so, so painful when the story broke. To see that kind of heinous evil and racism today ...it is disgraceful. But it reveals again how much work still needs to be done, and it serves as a looking glass to remind us of our own sin. So let us, by grace, put all rising thoughts of hate and prejudice to death (1 John 2:9-17; 3:14-15; 4:19-20; Col 3:8) and pray with the apostle Paul: "may the Lord make [us] increase and abound in love FOR ONE ANOTHER and FOR ALL" (1 Thess 3:12) There is no greater time than the present for the church to glorify her Lord by being a holy community of love ... to break down walls, to break down barriers to embrace our brothers and sisters who have come from all walks of life ... and to dignify ALL people we meet as image bearers of God. And by God's grace, may the church stand apart from the shrill political rhetoric, the virtue signalling, and rather, (Lord help us) abound in love for one another.

The pain and evil we are witnessing is a stark reminder to us that we are strangers an pilgrims in this world, a sin broken world in which we never really feel like is home. But before Christ returns to judge the earth and make all things right, we must remember that now is a time of mercy and our mission on earth is to declare the message of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:11-21), that Christ has purchased with his blood, people from every tribe, nation. people and language to bring them to Himself (Rev 5:9). That God is now gathering people from every nation and ethnicity into to one vast community for His glory. This truth, together with the Spirit's power, is the greatest (and only) resource for unity, reconciliation and forgiveness there is, bar none. There is no political solution. In fact I would argue that the media and politicians, with the agendas and disinformation they promote, have only served to exacerbate the problem and have made battling the sin of hate and racism a great deal more difficult. So let us fearlessly take the gospel to the those around us and to the ends of the earth, for that is the ONLY hope for it's people.

Mon, 08/14/2017 - 17:05 -- john_hendryx

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