The year 2020 has sure been a doozy!
As I sit writing this initial post, according to JohnsHopkins University the COVID-19 Pandemic has claimed more than
375,000 lives worldwide, and in my country, the United States of
America, more than 105,000 have died. As individuals, families,
businesses, first-responders, and governments work to address the
growing death toll, nearly every statement is politicized to the
extent that many are wondering what to believe. As if that wasn't
enough, the death of George Floyd a week ago has prompted protests
across our nation.
What would happen if Christians, when they encountered people whose viewpoints differed from theirs, would respond in love and pray a blessing over them?
One of the global bright-spots during
this time has been a song arranged by worship leader Kari Jobe in
North Carolina. The song, entitled, “The Blessing,” is a musical
adaptation of Numbers 6:24-26: “The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord
turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Before long, covers
of this song were being produced all over the world, often with
musicians sending in their videos from quarantine, and then splicing
them together to make “virtual choir” performances. You can
enjoy many of them at The Blessing DefinitiveCompilation on YouTube.
As I was listening to one of these renditions this morning, I began to wonder what would happen if Christians, when they encountered people whose viewpoints differed from theirs, would respond in love and pray a blessing over them. Could it be that, when a politician makes a racially insensitive remark, or a police officer kills an unarmed black man, or protesters vandalize and loot a building, that we should pray over them? Could we meet injustice with prayer, meet political opposition with prayer, meet those we vehemently disagree with with prayer?
What would it look like if Christians the world over truly heeded Christ's admonition to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you?” That idea is what this blog will seek to explore. I'll seek to investigate the Scriptures to see what God's plan is for us with regard to loving our enemies. My prayer is that, as this blog takes shape, I will become more and more a person of love.
Will you join me on the journey?
No comments:
Post a Comment