More Important Than The Election

“What’s love got to do, got to do with it?” Well, everything. God put it as simply as this in Matthew 22:37–39: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’.” In my lifetime I have not lived in a society as divided and full of hatred as the one we find ourselves in today. Everywhere you turn there is hatred and envy, that can fill our souls and influence our minds if we are not careful. No matter what political party, no matter what ethnicity, no matter what religion, we are called as Christians to love. What is love? Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love always protects, always trust, always hopes and always perseveres (1 Corinthians 13:4–7). Often times in today’s society we let our emotions get in the way of love. Now at first you may say “That doesn’t make sense… love is an emotion.” WRONG. Love is a verb. Love is something that takes effort, dedication, sacrifice, and taking up ones cross daily.

In Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book Life Together, he emphasizes the joy of community. My favorite quote from chapter 1 states, “It is easily forgotten that the community of Christians is a gift of grace from the Kingdom of God; a gift that can be taken away from us any day — that the time still separating us from the most profound loneliness may be brief indeed.” The phrase that comes to mind when I read this was “Eternal Perspective.” If we, as Christians, can keep an eternal perspective rather than a situational outlook, how different would we view life around us? Would we get enraged by a co-worker with a different political preference? Would we think differently of another based off of the color of their skin? Would we snap at a family member because they ruined our plans? In light of eternity, much of the arguments we find ourselves in end up looking well, trivial. Christianity is the most diverse family in the world, with individuals from every ethnicity and every background. So, if we are all one family, when are we going to start acting like it?

One concept to ponder is this: what if you treated every interaction with an individual like it would be your last? Would there be anyone you would reach back out to? Any words you would take back? Recently in my personal life I have been struggling with this concept. When I truly took a look in the mirror, there were many circumstances in which I saw that I had failed in, many conversations I handled wrong, and many conversations I refused to have. When I was a young boy my father left me and my family. He resurfaced multiple times throughout my teenage years until I eventually never saw him again. After six years of not seeing him I was confronted with this thought: “Michael, what if he died tomorrow?” Thinking of death and the fragility of life left me feeling stranded. I felt stranded in between thinking eternally and thinking in the now. After a week of contemplation, I did it. I took a step to reach out to my dad and I am glad I did. No, our relationship is not perfect, and it is not back to normal, but at least I can live knowing that I displayed the love of Christ. At the end of the day, loving others is the right decision even when you do not want to, even when you are hurt, and even when you do not agree with their opinions. Love is what Jesus sacrificed for me, so I will do my best to sacrifice myself, for others.