Hello, Dear Friends,
I would have to say that, out of all these years of ministry, I don’t remember another time where there has been greater conflict in our society than there seems to be right now. Maybe in the 1960s when I was really young; but even in the 1960s I don’t remember that it so permeated every part of our society like it does today. Conflict.
It’s possible for polarization or conflict to threaten the very nature of who we are as Christians, as human beings, as society, as a country. But the apostle Paul, in writing to the early Christians in Philippi, gave us his antidote to the divisiveness we are witnessing in the world. He said, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interest of others” (Philippians 2:3-4).
Paul then went on to say, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). Now, that’s a tall order. But Paul says this is how we live in the midst of conflict toward one another. This is what love looks like: to have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.
I remember a time when our granddaughter Elena was about six years old. They were visiting with us from their home in the Virgin Islands, and we had gone out for dinner at RiverGate Shopping Center. After dinner, I gave Elena several coins to throw into the fountain and make wishes. When we went out to the fountain, Elena noticed a little African American girl, about the same age, sitting on one of the benches along with her mom and dad.
Without saying a word, Elena went over to the little girl and gave her some of the coins she had in her hand. Together, they threw them into the fountain and made wishes. They ended up playing together for the next ten or fifteen minutes, and when it was time to go, Elena turned and ran back to hug her new friend. I don’t know if they ever even learned each other’s names.
You know me, I love Elena more than life itself. What’s the kind of world I want for her? I don’t want a world where people hate each other. I want her to know that we are called to love people who are different from us, and from people we disagree with. I want her to stand up, and speak up, for people who can’t speak up for themselves — but I want her to do it with love, because the most powerful tool Elena has to change the world, is love.
I want her to know that joy is found when you can love, even in the midst of conflict. But in order for her to learn that I have to model that for her. And you have to model it for other children. I want her to know that it’s not selfish ambition or vain conceit, but it’s considering the needs of others before herself, and when she does that, she will find life.
“Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)
Bruce Jones, Pastor
Imagine Church
