A thought From Dawn………..
In this world of chaos and so many unknowns sometimes it is difficult to be a
Christian and truthfully God did not say it would be easy. I have discovered
that the word “tolerance” has taken on a negative meaning, or maybe it was
always negative. We have learned and encouraged others to tolerate
those who do not look like us, act like us or believe in what we believe.
However, maybe a better phase would be “acceptance, consideration, and
respect.” Perhaps if we are able to accept and respect those who are not
like us it would be easier to love them as one of God’s beautiful creations.
I have found that profound and thought-provoking words can be discovered
in small books like, Unrelenting Grace a United Methodist Way of Life by
Kenneth H. Carter Jr. The book truly encourages the reader to think. “It is
easy to be in communion with God who sees all things in the way we see
them. And it is easy to be in connection with people who love us, and who
give us no reason not to love them. United Methodism is not easy for this very reason. It keeps
us in communion with a God whose ways are not our ways. And it keeps us in
connection with people who challenge our happiness, and, to take it a step
further, it keeps us in connection with people who are not obstacles to our
holiness but whose differences are the way we learn the practices that
move us closer to holiness, that is, perfection in love in this life.”
That brings me back to one of my previous statements, God did not say it would be
easy. There will always be those individuals who challenge us or question us but we must
remember the words of Christ, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with
all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And the
second is like it, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
In Christian Love,
Dawn