Our Opportunity in the Wake of Violence
After every act of violence, we have an opportunity to reveal or conceal the Body of Christ. In the aftermath of something as jarring as the recent political rally shooting, we expose our true loyalty and our highest allegiance through our reactions.
If our deepest allegiance is to a man, a political party, or a brand of politics we’ll quickly draw our lines, point our fingers, circle the wagons, and join our true enemy in dividing our country.
If our deepest allegiance is to Jesus, our first response is prayer. We pray for those who were hurt or killed and their families. We pray for Presidents Trump and Biden. We pray for our nation. If we have identified some as our enemies, we pray for them. We pray for peace, and we pray for The Prince of Peace to raise Godly leadership for our nation and our world.
We have been called to be peacemakers. Not simply to enjoy peace, but to act to establish the peace. That’s done by trusting God, dropping labels, and loving others.
The people of this world who have not trusted Jesus will divide. They will light fires with their tongues, posts, texts, and protests. Their hope is dependent on their ability to outsmart, outmaneuver, and out manipulate their opponents. If believers are sucked into such frenzy, the Body of Christ will be concealed, failing to stand apart from the world through grace, truth, and love to simply take its place as one of the less significant labels used to identify a voting niche.
Though each time we overcome our own nature and the temptation to contribute to the chaos and the division, blaming and pointing fingers in the name of justice, and rather choose to offer comfort to the mourning, words of wisdom to the anxious, a peaceful posture to the angry, a calm and quite response to those seeking to enflame our passions, and an explanation of faith to those who ask, the Body of Christ is revealed.
It's not too late to reveal the Body of Christ. If you suspect that your initial response has not pleased our Lord, repent. Pray. Change. Swallow your pride. Confess to yourself and to Jesus. Overcome your fear. Fear is a reaction to your recognition that you are not in control. But you never were. Jesus is. Reveal Him through loving others, and trust Him to reveal truth and bring justice.