Is it always good to carry more than you need? It is true that you never know what you will encounter. You never know when there will be additional needs that arise. Maybe you follow the Boy Scout motto of being prepared. You want to always make sure you are ready. But do you really need to carry more than you need? Do we really need excess to carry along with us?
Here’s a challenge for you – go to your bag you carry the most and pour everything out. I know…heart palpitations already. But pour it out anyway. How much of what you see is extra – the ‘just in case’ gear? My briefcase is full of unnecessary stuff. I am still carrying around the draft of my doctoral thesis (I spent so many years with it, I feel like I will have separation anxiety without it). There are all kinds of stuff I don’t need on a daily basis. But here I am, carrying the extra load.
For me, my briefcase mirrors too much of my life. I have the essentials and I will be okay. I lack for nothing. But I have this extra load I carry every day. I am not required to, I just do. There are things I need to let go of. There are things I need to discard completely and forget. There are items that need my attention I have buried in the bottom so I don’t have to think about them. There are a few things that bring me joy, but not enough. It looks like all business, really. So my load is heavy with things I wasn’t meant to carry all the time. There are things I should have taken care of a long time ago. There are items that I can pick up later when needed but are just taking up space for now – valuable space I could use for the things which bring me joy.
So today, I begin a little clean up. It is time for some simply ‘life keeping’. I need to look at the things which I carry and clean out the unnecessary. I need to get rid of the excess load so I can freely live and breathe and serve. I need to fill my bag only with the absolutely necessary so I can welcome in the joys that come my way. I need to have room in my bag – not so I have room for more stuff – but so I can move about freely and enjoy the journey.
Might you do the same today? It may physically begin with your bag, but may it spill over and free up your life – to really live.
Focus Scripture:
Matthew 11:28-29
28 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery. Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery
Gratitude should become a way of life for us. It should already be a part of the way we live, function, and communicate. When we approach life with gratitude, our perspective changes. We are seeking things for which we are most grateful. We are purposely finding ways to express our thankfulness. We are approaching Thanksgiving, so the month of November often evokes that image of gratitude. We are given a platform to spring our thankfulness forward. We have a reason to be grateful – it is a holiday that tells us to do it. So we take the time to at least make some go at it.
But today also reminds us of gratitude. It is Veterans Day – thanking those who have served our country to ensure the freedoms we basically take for granted every day. We were able to participate in the democratic process of voting. So much drama has surrounded the election, but the most amazing part is we have this opportunity to have our voice heard. Many men and women have fought hard to give us this privilege. We have the freedom of religion. This is often misunderstood, in my opinion. The beauty for me is this freedom allows us all the opportunity to worship as we feel led. We have the opportunity to choose where to worship and how to worship without fear. For someone who has grown up in church, this is something I don’t always consider. But for those who are in this country and have not had this opportunity, I see this freedom in a whole new light. No one is telling us how we must worship and where. Regardless of beliefs, we have the freedom to worship. There are so many more freedoms we experience each and every day. Today, I am most grateful to have these freedoms.
This may just be the day to really focus on all the many things for which we are thankful. Gratefulness can be extended to God for the air we breathe and the life we live. It carries through to the women and men who have faithfully served our country. It should become a part of our views as we meet people who help us throughout the day. Rather than living as though we are privileged, today we should live grateful.
I will begin – THANK YOU! Thank you to those who serve and have served our country so we can be free. I am most grateful.
Focus Scripture:
Colossians 3:14-15
14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.
Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery. Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery
What woke you up this morning? Was it the alarm clock that rang obnoxiously until you finally did get up? Are you one of the people who wakes up naturally at the same time every day (that’s me!)? Did you wake up because someone came in your room and got you going? Or did one of your children decide it was time to get up before you did?
When my kids were growing up, one of them was always a challenge to get up and going. I could turn on the light, pull the covers, and yell until I was blue in the face. Nothing seemed to motivate her to get going. Wendy is one who likes to sleep until the last possible minute, so her alarm clock must go off 100 times before she stirs. Our family now has a new type of alarm clock – only this one does not stay on any rhythm and isn’t according to the sun. Leo decides he needs a treat early in the morning – or he needs his chewy picked up from under the bed – or he needs to go outside at some odd time. And the thing about Leo – he is persistent. You will not go back to sleep until he has what he feels he needs. He’s an odd but cute alarm clock.
What if, this morning, you got up because God had a plan and purpose for you? What if you rose out of bed to see what God had planned for you today? What if we woke up knowing this day held treasures we couldn’t wait to open? What if we woke up today like it was the best day ever? Sounds a bit silly, doesn’t it? Most people I know would just go back to bed – I mean, why rush it?! The thing is…God does have an amazing purpose and plan for us. He had this before we were created and he hasn’t stopped. It is good. It is loving. It does have many amazing treasures. I wonder what life might be like if we got excited about what God was up to today. It might just change our perspective. It might just change our lives. Maybe it is time to get up – God awaits – and he is the most important part of our day (God and coffee).
Focus Scripture:
Psalm 139:1-3
1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. 3 You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery. Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery
You can do this! It’s Monday morning and you’ve got this. No matter what is ahead for today, God has equipped you with all you need to face this day. It doesn’t mean it will be easy. It doesn’t mean there won’t be stumbles. But what it does mean is you are not alone. There will be hints of joy that spring up throughout your day. There will be moments of unexpected peace that overflow in your life when you didn’t think possible. There will be encounters of love where you either receive or give God’s love. This is not a bad day, this is one more beautiful day we are given to celebrate and to live. We have life and breath and we are given the opportunity to embody this.
Today is not the day to dread or fear. You may be facing test or procedures. You may have deadlines that loom overhead. You have may have appointments you dread or places you would rather not be. Your job may not be your favorite. But these things do not determine your day, you do. You have the option of looking for the good (it really is there). You have the option to see the kindness (it may just be you that is the kindness). You have an opportunity to experience the goodness like never before. But it won’t start with you dreading this day – or any day, for that matter.
I don’t know what you are facing today, so I am not trying to downplay the difficulties. I do know many are suffering. I get it. But most every day (if not all) will have some real challenges. Most days will come with their own heartache and pain. So you have an option. Live focused on these things. Or you can find the good – the joy, the peace, the love, the kindness. I know good is ahead – I’m hunting for that. I hope to see you on the journey.
Focus Scripture:
Ecclesiastes 5:18a
18 This is what I have seen to be good: it is fitting to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of the life God gives us
Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery. Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery
His name is Chris. He captured my attention yesterday – as he did of thousands of others. Yesterday, Chris completed an Ironman 140.6 in Florida. For those of you who may not know what this is, it is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, followed by a 26.2 mile run. One right after the other, in one day, timed. As amazing of a feat as it is, people complete an Ironman on a regular basis – thousands do this or have done this. This was Chris’ first. And he did it. We had someone from Goldsboro who completed it yesterday named Josh. It is something you train for and work for and still there is a possibility of not completing it. Yet, Josh did it. And Chris did it. Prior to yesterday, I had not heard of Chris. But I know of him now. It isn’t because Chris was the first through the finish line. He didn’t break any time records. He was a male who completed Ironman Florida. Yet, he was also the first person with Down Syndrome to ever complete an Ironman. That’s right, Chris has Down Syndrome. And Chris completed a nearly impossible feat. Chris is an Ironman.
At some point, he had a goal. He had people who believed in him. He had a coach that was willing to train him and guide him through the entire course. But Chris had to complete the whole thing under his own power. Someone saw something in Chris beyond being a young man with Down Syndrome. Someone saw an athlete. And now, we all see an incredible athlete.
A couple of weeks ago, a song was stuck in my head. That’s not all that unusual, I think in songs. At work, we communicate in songs. But this particular song continued to play over and over again. I looked it up on YouTube so I can hear others sing it. I thought it was stuck in my head because of Robin’s baptism. But turns out, it was stuck in there much longer. And there is a powerful message. It is a Negro Spiritual from the late 1800s and early 1900s. While it is believed to be a song to help slaves navigate as they escaped, it also alludes to two different scriptures – one of Moses and the other, we will look at today. This song brings me here.
John 5:1-9
5 After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in HebrewBeth-zatha, which has five porticoes. 3 In these lay many invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” 9 At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.
The song goes – Wade in the water – wade in the water children – God’s gonna trouble the waters. Here is a man at the edge of the water, but not wading. And Jesus asks an interesting question. Can you imagine the thought of the man who has been approached by Jesus? First, can you imagine Jesus even making his way through a group of sick folks. He could look from a distance and think about those poor, pitiful people. He could pass them by and avoid being unclean – it was the Sabbath after all. He could have ignored they were there – religious people had been doing this for years. But he didn’t. He went there, on purpose. He had something to do. He had to see people.
And there was a man who John records has been sick 38 years. That’s a long time to sit by the water. He has been there so often, he has a place, his own space. This is his home – but he is only steps from the promise. He can’t move forward because he has been stuck in hopelessness. He doesn’t see a possibility to move from where he is. He has reached his destination – and it is devastating. The legend of the water is that when the angel stirs the water, the first in becomes healed. He just wants his shot at it. Yet, every time the opportunity comes, he is passed by. You can imagine after 38 years, one just feels like it will never happen. He is there to stay – to watch others reach the water first – to watch others find healing while he sits and waits, never to be healed.
Yet, Jesus asks him what seems to be a question with a glaringly obvious answer – do you want to be made well? Think about it – Jesus asks a man that has been sick for 38 years if he wants to be made well. While it seems this is a ridiculous question, Jesus doesn’t just ask things for no reason. He isn’t trying to ridicule him. He isn’t trying to insult him. He needs this man to consider – do you really want to be made well? Do you really want to move past this? Because when you are living in the land of hopelessness, you may not even know what it means to be made well anymore. Because your mat becomes your comfort and being well becomes the impossible. It has long been put out of his mind as a possibility. It likely hasn’t even been a part of his thoughts for so many years now.
Hopelessness, defeat and dismay can easily become the norm. When I looked at this guy in the past, I wanted to tell him to move closer to the water. I wanted to tell him how to reach the water first. I wanted to teach him how to move his mat so he could be the most agile even despite his illness. I wanted to see him reach the water and couldn’t, for the life of me, understand how he could just sit there while others received the healing. That is, until I experienced what hopelessness feels like. It is emptying. It is defeating. And it runs so deep that all desire to move forward has been drained out of you. And then I got it. He couldn’t get to the water, not because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t know how.
When you have sat on the mat for so long, people see you as belonging on the mat. This man had sat on the mat for so very long that he became ‘the sick man’. His life was lived as the sick man. His identity was the man who was sick. He lived so close to healing but would never make it because he would always be the sick man. Why would anyone help him because being sick was who he was? Why would anyone offer hope – he had lost it – so why wouldn’t everyone else believe he was hopeless too? Yet, Jesus didn’t define him by his illness. His mat was not his home. This was not his final destination. There was life off the mat – even if the man couldn’t see it and the people around him couldn’t see it – God could and God did.
Jesus looked at the man and saw him. He was not the sick. Those people gathered around that water were not the blind, lame, helpless forgotten people. To Jesus, they were the beloved. They were children of God. So he asks him – do you want your hope restored because I see so much more in you than you see in yourself? Do you want to see what life is really like off the mat? Do you want to break the barriers placed by the people around you? Do you want to see what it is like to not be defined by the mat and this illness? If that’s a yes, pick it up and let’s go. And he did.
If you know the story, you know this is not the end. The man is questioned and Jesus gets into a lot of trouble for this. He gets in trouble because he healed on the Sabbath. The man gets in trouble because he picked up his mat – against the law because it is defined as work on the Sabbath. They get in trouble because they saw beyond the rules of the day. The religious people were furious that a man who had been sick for 38 years was healed on the wrong day. I wonder how many of the rules we have made up in the name of religion Jesus would break today? And we would be mad about him making people well. Don’t be upset at those religious leaders because that defines way too much of the church today. Follow the rules, forget the people.
But ultimately, the man got up because the mat was not his home. Even though people had placed him there and told him to stay…you are the sick man and this is where you belong…Jesus saw more. The story about Chris that I started with in the beginning – I don’t know Chris, I have just followed his journey. But I can only imagine the people who told him he couldn’t do it. I can only imagine those who would have said that it was too much for him to attempt. I can hear people tell his family about how he could hurt himself or this would put too much strain on him and they weren’t caring for him. I don’t know his whole story – but I hear this kind of thing all the time in different circumstances. We want people to be who we want them to be – even if it means they stay on the mat.So if you find yourself hopeless on the mat today, I encourage you to look up, Jesus stands before you to show you a new way. If you know of someone on the mat that has lost all hope, love them, see them and encourage them. You can’t pick them up but you also shouldn’t be the one holding them down. Wherever you may find yourself this morning – the mat is not your home. God has so much more planned – and it might just take breaking the rules in love. Take up your mat and walk, God has beautiful things planned for his people who follow him. Rise up, there is still good to be done.
We think we know. We may even feel confident in it. We label people because of what we see on the outside. Lazy, hopeless, dumb, helpless are just a few. It goes the other way too – rich, successful, intelligent, wise. We define people by the things we see. But we don’t know. We don’t know what goes on in their homes. We don’t know what they are struggling with in their lives. We don’t know the hurt or frustration or anger bubbling up under the surface. We don’t understand how their past has haunted or shaped them. We don’t know they lash out because they are so wounded inside. We don’t know that it appears they are wealthy but in reality they could lose it all in the blink of an eye. We don’t know they suffer from insecurity or they are held back by the despair that overwhelms them. All we know is what we see and that isn’t very much.
Yet, we find ourselves quick to make judgments. We can easily decide the character of people without actually getting to know them. We can lump people together in a big group so we can avoid all of them or identify with all of them. Yet, we don’t know. My Dad often told me – everyone puts on their pants the same way. In other words, we are not as different as we want to pretend we are. We are humans. We are made in the image of God. We are loved by an incredible God who sees us and knows us and still loves us. He doesn’t care about our outward show. He cares about our heart. Yet, we often don’t get to know people enough to know anything about their heart. We just want to make decisions based on what we see. We don’t know.
Since we don’t know, be kind. It is simple. It really is one of the most powerful things we can do and doesn’t take much effort. But since we don’t know, don’t make judgments – just be kind. Kindness reaches across barriers. Kindness opens doors. Kindness encourages community. Kindness opens arms.
Since we don’t know – just be kind.
Focus Scripture:
Galatians 5:22-23
22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.
Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery. Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery
Did I miss something? Was I asleep when it happened? Where was I when the switch flipped? I certainly can’t put my finger on it. But somewhere along the way, hatred, meanness and anger became the norm in our lives. At some point, we became an angry people who were willing to blast anyone who doesn’t agree with us. It didn’t matter if feelings were hurt. It wasn’t a factor if they were neighbors, friends or fellow believers. It didn’t matter if we had eaten at their table or been invited to their homes. The only thing that matters is our opinion and anyone outside of this should be taken down – and taken down with pride.
When did it happen that name calling, belittling, and bullying became a part of an adult rhetoric? When did we start cheering for those who had hateful things to say as long as it was something we agreed with? When did kindness become the exception and domination become the rule? When did we start condemning people because they don’t agree with us? How did this happen?
We cannot grow like this. We cannot move forward like this. This cannot become our new normal. It can never become okay to beat someone down with our words because they don’t agree with us. In a world where people should be valued, we are slashing that value in an effort to be right. And nothing good comes from it.
You may be thinking…but this is just a small part of the population. And you may be right. It may be only a few people actually function like this. The problem is these people are the loudest. Their hatred spills out onto our airwaves and integrates into our social media. We are infiltrated with anger. The loudest certainly make us believe that everyone feels like this.
So today, I shout kindness. Today, maybe we begin to turn the tide back. Maybe we start encouraging…and doing it a lot. Maybe we begin reaching deep and loving like never before. Maybe we become very loud about love and let our anger melt. Maybe we shout from the rooftops how grateful we are. Maybe we give it all we have to love all we see. Maybe it begins with us. Hatred cannot win. Love must be the answer.
May our kindness and our love flow powerfully through and from us. May its streams cover the anger. May its power overtake the hatred. May it bring life and hope.
Focus Scripture:
Job 6:14
14 Those who withholdkindness from a friend forsake the fear of the Almighty.
Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery. Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery
I can’t count the number of times I have ended a day thinking about the things I should not have said. It isn’t that I was being purposefully mean or angry. It also isn’t that I seek to hurt someone else, ever. It is more that my instant response is not always my best response. I often will have more insightful and kind things to say if I will just take a moment before responding. This also helps me to be more careful with my tone when I respond. Sometimes my response is fine, it is the way that I say it (maybe the eye roll doesn’t help when it accompanies the words). If you don’t believe me, ask my wife, children, close friends or co-workers. I truly have a heart for kindness and love, but I am also abrupt and a straight shooter. So it just comes out better if I consider my words carefully. And I also do my best to ask for forgiveness when I realize my response was taken in way that wasn’t intended.
Why does this matter? For me, it matters because when things are super intense, most, if not all of us tend to say things we should have left unsaid. We have a tendency to respond with anger or fear. Those words hurt. Those words cause damage. With the amount of divisiveness that we encounter in a day, we can end up saying things to those we truly love that we actually don’t mean if we dig real deep. It is more that we are reacting to what has been said or what is on our mind. I try to tell my kids – sometimes people respond with such anger not because of anything you have said or done – but because of something else they are dealing with. It all compounds and eventually somebody ends up getting an earful that really doesn’t deserve it.
What’s said is said and what’s done is done – so the saying goes. But I disagree. Sure, the words are out there. Damage has been done. But there is such a thing as forgiveness and grace. There is still mercy and love. There is still time to find the humility that is required as someone who follows Christ. There is still an opportunity for repair – even if it is a minor repair on a total destructive job. Minor repairs mean something.
Today, may our thoughts be according to the outline from our focus scripture. May our hearts be eased and our minds be freed of our anger. May our words find ways to heal and build, not destroy. May we find a way to speak kindness in an otherwise harsh world. May it begin with me.
Focus Scripture:
Philippians 4:8
8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery. Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery
It can be really difficult for us to hear the call to put down our stones. While on the surface, it sounds so easy – give up your anger, rage, hatred, and divisions. Give all of that up and gather together to work for the good of those called according to God’s purpose. It sounds great – even makes me feel great to write it. But for some, it is the most frightening thing that could be asked of many Christians.
Our faith can easily become defined by the stones we carry. We hold so tight to those stones that when pushed, they make our hands bleed – but we would never consider putting them down. Stones make us comfortable. They are our security pieces. They have made us who we are and how dare we become challenged to give that up. Stones become our closest friends. And when pushed, we just gather bigger stones until our hands are full and we feel good about ourselves.
Stones enable us to feel better about ourselves. If I can condemn you and show you all the things you do wrong, then I feel better about me. We begin to think… “at least I am not doing that” or “look at how wrong he is”. I become the hero, the good one, the chosen. We begin to sit from our mighty stone thrones and cast judgment on those who don’t follow our rules. We banish people who refuse to carry our stones. The stones have become the bedrock of our faith – not Jesus. But this was not the original intention.
I often have people tell me that I should preach more about hell and less about love. I am always taken back at this comment, no matter how many times I hear it. But I get it – condemnation is comforting for those who feel good about where they are sitting. And it helps others feel bad for not agreeing. But for me, I have to look at the life of Jesus. I don’t recall Jesus gathering prostitutes, tax collectors and sinners around the table to tell them to get their life straight or they were going to hell. It seems to me that the fact he was even willing to sit around the table speaks more welcome than anything else. And all the words to them speak abundant love. I don’t hear condemnation or judgment. I hear love. Where I do hear Jesus get angry is at the religious folk – those carrying stones. I do hear Jesus telling them they can’t hear his message because they are so stuck in theirs. I hear Jesus tell those who dragged a woman before him to put down their stones of contempt and judgment. And I hear non-judgment for the woman. I hear love.
When we become defined as Christians by our judgment, condemnation and divisiveness in the name of our faith – we have a faith built with stones. Jesus said we should be known by our love. The only way is to let those stones crumble to dust right before your eyes. This is only done with the love of Christ. It will be hard. It will challenge us to our core. It will change how we approach our faith. It is not about compromising what we believe – it is about finding out how those beliefs are wrapped in love.
May our stones crumble to dust – and may others see our love. May we welcome to the table. We don’t need those stones, Christians. Our hearts can be filled with the love of Christ. Live as the beloved.
Focus Scripture:
Luke 18:9-14
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Here we are again…the day after an election with a narrow gap between two candidates for President. It is a place we are all too familiar. This is not new for us. It is definitely a sign of where we are as a people – split right down the middle. Divisiveness never seems to turn out well. If we could be divided on a candidate but still come together as a united people, this would be fine. But if we are honest, this isn’t happening. It didn’t happen last time and it is unlikely to happen again. I wrote a blog on this day after the election 4 years ago as this same scenario was playing out (copied below). It seems just as important today as it did then. But I share this with a bit less hope than I had then. Christians have continued to cast stones in an effort to show “the right way” (beat it into them if they won’t listen??). Those of us who claim the way of Christ have often shown anything but love for anyone who thinks, votes, or believes differently. And it just cannot continue.
So I am up early this morning with concern. It isn’t over who will actually win the election (although we all want our candidate to win). It isn’t over the future of our country. I am up early this morning concerned about those of us who love Jesus. Since the vote is split in the middle, this means those of faith are also split. Essentially, you are likely sitting on the same pew or in the same place of worship or the same park bench with someone who did not vote like you. We have friends and family members who did not vote the same. We have coworkers who are divided on their vote. And if we claim the Christian faith, we must find a way forward together. There has been damage – words have been said and actions have been shown – and all too many were really ugly. But Jesus’ love is the great repairer.
Repairing does not mean changing everyone to be like me. Repairing means we change to become more like Christ – and neither political party or candidate is Christ. You can be on both sides of the spectrum and still love Jesus. One more time…YOU CAN BE ON BOTH SIDES OF A POLITICAL SPECTRUM AND STILL LOVE JESUS. So I still believe the only way forward is to put down our stones and work together to share the love of Christ. We cannot cast stones and show love at the same time. And the Gospel of John reads that Jesus believed the one without sin was the only with the ability to cast a stone. That means there won’t be any stone casting from anyone who follows him – there simply can’t be.
So, one more time – let’s drop our stones and find healing in the love of Jesus Christ. Christians, let’s lead the way – not in contempt or bullying – but in love. This is the only way.
Put Down Your Stone…A Call to Christians (published November 9, 2016)
It is the day after the Presidential Election. We are a nation divided. The narrow victory certainly tells many stories about how our country feels. There has been so much divisiveness and dissension. It has been a time of turmoil as we have watched candidates debate, argue, and even fist fight. With such a narrow victory, the next president certainly has his work cut out for him to unite this country. That is all stating the obvious.
What is also obvious is the underlying current of hate and anger that has been simmering and occasionally spewing to the top. There has been name calling and people made to feel belittled for supporting one candidate or the other. There have been phrases like…if you vote for ____, then you are just stupid (or an idiot or whatever other negative connotation you can come up with). Phrases like…you can’t possibly be a Christian and vote for _____. Or, who in their right mind would vote for _____. Honestly, it has felt more like being on the playground in middle school than being adults “debating” the issues for the future of our country. It definitely is a sign that many Americans lack the basic skill of effective communication and instead, lean towards bullying and fear mongering.
The most disheartening of it all for me is that much of this hate, anger, belittling, and casting of fear has come from my Christian brothers and sisters. On social media, on the TV, in ads, and in person, one cannot tell if a person is a Christian or not by actions or by their love. I have heard just as many negative comments and hateful spewing from Christians as from anyone else. And since Jesus wasn’t running (or anyone who even resembles his actions or values), there should not have been a “Christian vote.” Since the vote was nearly 50/50, that would suggest that there are Christians who love the Lord with all their heart on BOTH sides. What a concept. It has been difficult to see the love of Christ show up in anything that has been done over the last few months. Apparently when the heat is turned up, Christians don’t seem to react any different than anyone else…and that is painful and sad.
So, the election is over (and we all say a collective THANK GOD). But damage has been done. Christians, it is time for us to drop the stones that we have been casting and find unity. We must find a way to come together as God’s people to do God’s work REGARDLESS of who is president or whether or not we voted for him. For me, it starts with humility, looking to Christ as my guide. We must seek forgiveness, both from God for the way we have acted, and from our neighbors for the stones that have been cast. We must turn our hearts and minds to Christ and to LOVING OTHERS. We cannot join hands in this world while holding stones. We cannot offer a helping hand or help a brother or sister up while carrying the stones. We cannot be the hands and feet of Christ while burdened down with our anger and fear and hatred. We have to drop it all in surrender to the ONE that can bring us together. Regardless of whether or not this country unites, Christians are called to be different, to act different, and to love different.
Brothers and Sisters, may we drop our stones today seeking forgiveness, joining hands with our neighbors in love and unity, and moving forward doing the work of Christ. If you are looking for a change in this country…this is where it really begins…
SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY 
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