Just Show Up!

If you haven’t noticed, there is a lot happening in our world today. This year (2020) has been a doozie so far, hasn’t it?! Corona Virus has had us shut up in our houses for weeks, a man named George Floyd was murdered by a police officer, rioting and looting have been going on all across the country…

I promise, this blog isn’t trying to depress you or be political. One thing I know for a fact is that YOU have a friend – whether or not they live next door, across town, across the country, or they’re virtual friends on social media – who has been affected in some way by 2020’s disasters. Maybe they or one of their family members has had COVID-19, and maybe they have been hospitalized or their family members have died. Maybe your friend is a person of color and they feel deeply impacted by the incident in Minneapolis and the resulting violent and destructive actions of a few people. Maybe you aren’t affected by these events, but you don’t to look far to find someone who has been.

Now, I’m not asking you to agree with me or with your friends. But I am asking you to have some empathy, compassion, and love toward them. Just show up for them! You don’t need to fix them, or say profound words or make a profound Facebook post. Just let them know you’re there.

Job went through a terrible loss. He lost all of his children and all of his possessions. He was known to be a very, very good man. In Job 2:11-13. his friends hear about his loss and they go to him. They see his suffering and cry for and with him. Then in verse 13, “… they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.” They didn’t say anything! They just sat in silence with Job for a week!

They did eventually open their mouths and talk. That is where they messed up.

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” Romans 12:15

Just show up, and shut up.

 

 

Refugees – The Re-Mix

Ok, unless you literally live under a proverbial rock you know about the middle eastern refugees who are seeking asylum in other eastern countries as well as in the United States. I must confess that I, as a father, a husband, and as an American, am very concerned with the idea of 10,000 refugees flooding into our country. I have absolutely no problem with humanitarian needs being met. My concern is with the undoubtedly hidden threats that will also be coming into our backyards along with the innocents. Every fiber of my being is screaming that we most certainly should not let them into our personal safe haven (which isn’t really all that safe, but I guess it is relative to where they are coming from)! But, I’ve really done some thinking and soul searching and have had to check that line of thinking.

Let me throw this thought at you, from a family leadership prospective. Say a group in our country that is considered to be radical, but relatively peaceful, say the Westboro Baptist “Church”, started murdering non-Christian and Christian alike for not believing in their particular brand of hatred. Not only locally, but their movement began to spread. They attack and acquire weaponry and equipment from National Guard and Homeland Security facilities and go on the march straight to your state/city/town/neighborhood/backyard/house. You take your family and run. Lets say, for the sake of my illustration, that you run to Iraq where Islam is a stable form of government and the majority of the population is made up of moderate Muslims. But they don’t let you in with your precious family because you or the people with you could be radical Christian terrorists. You know that you and yours are innocent! But they still don’t want to let you in because of the perceived threat.

Does this scenario give you pause? Did you stop and think about what those monsters would do to your wife? To your children? Or to you? All you want to do is keep your family safe from all harm. But you can’t get away.

This is not meant to try to make you change your mind about national or personal security, or to downplay the very real threat, and I have no budgetary scheme to pay for the aid these people would need, but just to think about it in another light. I must tell you, that as I write this and realize how hard hearted I have been thus far, my heart is breaking for those innocent families who just want a place to live peacefully. Please join me in prayer for the men, women, and children who are caught up in the hateful schemes of evil men.

Who are “They”?

Misters Merriam and Webster categorize “they” as a pronoun. A pronoun can refer to a specific person, or it can refer to many people.

But who are “they”? Let me introduce to you, “they”.

They are the innocent people in Iraq who are being murdered for their beliefs and their ethnicity.

They are radical Muslims who are murdering innocents throughout the world.

They are Christians, who unlike Christ, are full of hatred.

They are South Americans who are illegally entering the United States of America.

They are the people who make decisions based upon facts that you or I do not have access to.

They are politicians, both decent and corrupt, who make our laws.

They are families grieving the too early deaths of their children.

They are communities who are scared and confused.

They are law enforcement professionals who are trying their best to protect our society.

They are military members fighting to preserve our way of life.

They are guilty.

They are innocent.

They are you

They are me.

We all need the same things: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

Today I pray for “them”. From the radical militant Muslims to the American suburbanites. From the homeless veteran heroes to the DC politicians. I will pray for them all because as a Christian, I should love them all, and we all need Jesus (Matthew 5:43-48, Matthew 22:39, Romans 3:23).

In the immortal words of Tiny Tim: God bless us, every one!