A Heavy Heart

For He himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.

Ephesians 2:14-15

This past week, my cousin shared on her Facebook that a Christian group had put up a huge billboard of aborted babies and baby parts right in the center of her campus. Ever since I heard, I can’t let go of the heaviness on my heart. I can’t stop thinking about it for two reasons. One, it’s insensitive, disgusting and just sad! The second is because a group of Christians are representing who our very great God is in a false way. After searching Facebook and reading some other posts on this incident, what I noticed most were the arguments between Christians and non Christians. The enemy probably loves the divisiveness he is creating in our world. In everything these days, it seems we are in disagreement, and divisions seem to be more prevalent.

I’m not suggesting we should not have an opinion or stand for what we believe, but Jesus came in truth and LOVE. He never shamed someone or scared them into doing the right thing or believing certain truths. “For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John3:17

Maybe as Christians, if we spent more time teaching people how to love God and know His grace filled heart, the decisions that followed might look a little different.

The verse that I shared above from Ephesians has been everywhere lately. I feel like everything I listen to or read has this verse in it. Jesus came to bring peace and put to DEATH hostility. Albert Barnes comments, “The best way to produce peace between alienated minds is to bring them to the same Savior. That will do more to silence contentions, and to heal alienations, than any or all other means. Bring people around the same cross; fill them with love of the same Redeemer, and give them the same hope of heaven, and you put a period to alienation and strife. The love of Christ is so absorbing, and the dependence in his blood so entire, that they will lay aside these alienations, and cease their contentions.” (Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, Bible Hub)

Whether it’s abortion, our next president, homosexuality, race…. division is going to be there. What will we do about it? Will we join in the arguments? Or will we share Jesus and love people? We need to be showing the world who our sovereign God really is, and He’s NOT hanging up pictures of dead babies in the center of college campuses!