As I turned on the radio, and heard the words spoken from stately lips, my breath was halted, I gulped hard, my heart ached. If I could describe my response, with the description of an action, it would be that of someone shoving a knife into my gut … and then twisting it.
The loss of a life, a soul, just a couple days before, elicited a similar, agonizing response.
The Crusades, the Inquisition … sins against humanity, in the name of Christ.
Slavery, Jim Crow … sins some believed had Biblical support.
Residential schools, child abuse … sins by those who led the church.
Witch hunts, abortion doctor shooters, bullies of homosexuals … all in the name of Christ.
What President Obama may be oblivious to, is the fact that those of us who are sincerely striving to live as Christ have no high horse to come down from …
as we have already been trampled by that ghost horse of the past over, and over, and over again.
“study the past if you would define the future”
Confucius
The past, history, is a most valuable educator. It shows where humanity has gone right, and where it has gone off the rails wrong, like a runaway train. I would never, ever be one to say, let the past stay there … in the past. We must study it, understand it, learn from it.
What I can say, though, is that I do not live in the past, I am not responsible for the actions of those who lived in the past, as it is not those of the past who are my leaders, who I am following.
I am only answerable for the actions, words and impact that my life has on those around me, and the world I live in. Yes, my heart aches when I hear of horrors performed in the name of Christ (past and present), but it is an ache not for myself, but for the one whose name has been damaged … Christ.
May we pray for those who are persecuted.
May we be the hands and feet of God in communities, and the greater world.
May we be the voice of love, of peace and of wisdom.
May we feel the weight of representing our God this day, and be convicted by that responsibility to speak, to act, and to impact our world for His glory.
May we always, only, follow He who is worthy.
“It is (only) the Lord your God you must follow,
and (only) him you must revere.
Keep (only) his commands, and obey (only) Him;
serve (only) Him
and hold fast to (only) Him.”
Deuteronomy 13:4
itsawonderfilledlife 