I know, it’s been ages since I wrote. Hello again.

My heart is heavy. In the past few days, I have probably wept more than I’ve slept. The swirling thoughts and sleepless nights are related to recent events in the USA and the response to those things, but it’s more than that. These events were the proverbial straw that broke me.

Other straws have been weighing for years. So much division, so many “sides” to take. I see some saying that they are not interested in unity because that means agreeing with everything the other “side” believes. I don’t agree. Unity does not require uniformity. God’s Body is full of people with whom we’ll never fully agree. (The only person I fully agree with on every subject is myself, and even that is dicey at times!) There are people I love on nearly every side of all the hot topics in our society today, and I’ve been wrestling with what my response should be. What does it look like to live and speak truth in love? In short, what would Jesus do?

Here are a few things Jesus did during his years on earth: Jesus stayed silent, and He spoke harsh words and confusing messages. Jesus had grace oozing out of every part of His being, and He told people to go and sin no more. Jesus talked of chasing after the one, and He let people walk away. Jesus turned over tables, and He sat at tables with unexpected people. He ate with Pharisees, and He ate with “sinners”. He still welcomes sinners to His table every day, and not one of us is less a sinner than another. We’ve all fallen short, and there is no point system to rank sin.

It turns out that “what would Jesus do?” isn’t always such a straightforward question. He knew the hearts and minds of those He was dealing with, and He did the most loving thing in every situation. There doesn’t seem to be a one size fits all response to the people we encounter, and a social media post is usually not going to change minds. Many serve to further divide. I don’t know exactly how to look like Jesus in this moment, but I sure want to figure it out.

One thing I do know is God loves Charlie Kirk and his family, and God loves Tyler Robinson and his family. He loves Palestinians and Israelis. God loves Iryna Zarutska and Decarlos Brown and the judge who freed him. He loves Russians and Ukrainians. God loves the leaders of Hamas and Benjamin Netanyahu, Putin  and Zelensky, President Trump and President Biden, and every other leader on the globe. This list could go forever, but I think you get the picture.

I condemn acts of violence, and I pray for the victims of the horrors going on all around the globe. I’m also choosing to pray for those who commit the acts of violence, who celebrate them, who justify them. I’m praying for every person on whatever “side” to have an encounter with the God who loves them, an encounter with the Word of Truth. I will pray for those I agree with and those I don’t. I will let my heart break for the things that break God’s heart. Jesus wept, and so will I. Today, that’s what I know to do. 

I don’t want to conform to membership on a particular side of (insert issue here), I want to be transformed into the image of God. I want to look like Jesus, so today, Holy Spirit, help me to know how to do that with each person I encounter. Let me be a person in whom grace, truth, justice and mercy dwell.