Love in Response to Orlando (and Every Day)
June 14, 2016
We are brokenhearted, we are grieving, we are mourning.
And yet, there are some who are condemning and criticizing and spewing hatred.
There are some who are saying it is because of the type of club, because of the type of people, because of the religion, because of the terrorist group.
There are some who are responding to an act of horrific hatred with more hatred.
That, I will not do.
Because if I only show love to those who are just like me, the only recipient of my love is myself.
Because nobody is just like me.
But everybody is worthy of love.
I refuse to let differences between me and another human give me a reason to not show them love. No part of me believes that is of Christ. If I am to call myself a Christian, I am choosing to love like Jesus loves, even when it is hard or uncomfortable or seemingly impossible. If I am to say I am a follower of Jesus Christ, I am committing to live my life following His example, even when it goes against the grain.
We are all worthy of love, all differences aside, all judgments erased, all biases destroyed.
My love cannot discriminate if it is to be like His.
I DO NOT HAVE TO BE LIKE YOU TO SHOW YOU LOVE.
I am straight, but I love you if you are gay, lesbian, transgender, queer, transitioning, bisexual, or anything else.
I am single, but I love you if you are in a relationship or if you are a parent or your stage of life is anything else.
I am somewhere in the middle politically, but I love you if you are a democrat, a republican, a libertarian, or anywhere else on the spectrum.
I am a woman, but I love you if you are a woman or a man or anything else.
I am an American, but I love you if you are European or African or Asian or from anywhere else.
My love does not discriminate.
Because His love did not discriminate.
If Jesus only loved those who were just like Him, the only recipient of His love would have been His triune self.
Because nobody is just like Him.
But everybody is worthy of love.
I have not murdered, but I have still sinned.
I have not raped, but I have still sinned.
I have not aborted a life, but I have still sinned.
If His love discriminated, I would be condemned. I would be doomed. I would be hopeless, helpless, destined for hell because of my sin and my humanity and all the ways I am so unlike Him.
DO YOU SEE?
We cannot categorize our love.
Jesus did not categorize His love.
We cannot keep classifying people as a way to push them aside and count them out
We cannot keep justifying these tragedies with excuses that are so paper-thin.
We cannot keep turning blind eyes to these atrocities.
We cannot keep our love to ourselves.
Because when Jesus encountered a person who was diseased, a person who was considered unclean and kept far away, a person who was caught in the act of adultery, a person who was moments away from the death his crimes had deserved, he did not turn away. He did not point a finger. He did not cast a stone. He did not say he would pray and then forget what he saw. He did not keep his love to himself.
He moved toward the mess.
He touched the unclean.
He healed the sick.
He responded with grace.
He forgave.
He extended an invitation.
He gave hope.
He offered a way out.
He made a way.
He loved.
DO YOU SEE?
We cannot categorize our love.
Nobody is just like us.
We are all different, yet all human. All created by a good God, all worthy of the same love, all breathing the same air, living on the same planet, desperate for the same things.
If your love discriminates, it is not love.
If your love categorizes, it is not love.
If your love boasts, it is not love.
If your love is self-seeking, it is not love.
If your love is not for all, it is not love.
“John 13:35 says. ‘Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.’”
May we truly love our world and all who we share it with, unconditionally, selflessly, patiently, graciously, honestly, endlessly, faithfully.