I know this blog is supposed to address my personal journey in facing grief over the loss of a loved one, but there’s a lot happening in the world right now that cannot be ignored. One of the most notable things happening are the riots that have ensued following the needless loss of George Floyd’s life. In addressing racism and the fight against it, I’ve seen many people say that “silence” is not enough. As such, you’ll see on the news and, oftentimes, in your towns protests being held to bring awareness to the need to end racist thoughts and actions. I would have to agree that silence is not enough, most especially for Christians. Silence is not an option for Christians of any tribe or tongue. We need to be proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ and the salvation that is found in Him. Our nation…the world…NEEDS Jesus. This can be easily seen in the actions of the police officer who is responsible for George Floyd’s death and in the actions of those who have decided that the best way to protest his death is through rioting, resulting in destruction of property, harm to fellow human beings, and further loss of life.
I suffer from migraines that oftentimes cause intense fatigue and was exhausted by the end of the day Monday, resulting in my flippantly commenting to my mother that I “was too tired to have an opinion” on everything currently happening. This is, of course, outside of the fact that I believe that justice needs to be served in the case of George Floyd’s death and that it is long-past time for racism to end. However, when I was reading through God’s Word yesterday during my quiet time, I realized that not having an opinion was not an option and that that had been a careless remark on my part.
One of the passages I read was Psalm 14. Verses 1—4 say, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the LORD?” The Psalm ends with David pleading, “Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!”
As I read that Psalm, I found myself thinking of the violence currently being wrought in our country. The violence that caused the needless death of George Floyd and the violent riots that have followed. Our country has turned aside and become corrupt. Just as David pleaded for his people, Israel, I found myself pleading for our country. Oh, that salvation for the United States would come! Only, that salvation has come. It came when Jesus Christ came to earth as a child, grew into a man, died on the cross for each and every one of our sins, and rose again to give us much needed salvation and communion with God if we come to Him in faith and repentance.
The second part of my devotions was Galatians 5 as I’ve been doing a study of the fruit of the Spirit. Verses 13-15 say, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.” Paul is speaking here to the churches of Galatia, reminding the believers to love one another. If we, as Christians, still need the reminder to love each other, how much more would those who do not yet know Christ as Savior? People in our nation are biting and devouring one another. They are being consumed by one another. And they are exhibiting the works of the flesh addressed later on in Galatians 5: enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions. To fight against these works, we need the Holy Spirit. “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.” (Galatians 5:17)
My brothers and sisters in Christ, as we walk through these uncertain times, let us be boldly proclaiming the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. I’ve heard so often that the world needs more love. And that’s correct but not quite precise enough. The world needs the love of Christ. The world needs for believers to be showing that love in proclaiming the gospel, in loving our neighbors as ourselves, in calling out injustice no matter the form; whether that be racial violence or violence in response to such a heinous act as the murder of George Floyd. We need to be producing the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control for, “against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:23b)
Finally, as you proclaim the gospel and live your lives producing the fruit of the Spirit, do not neglect to plead as David did for your nation, for the world. Pray that they would see that salvation has come. Pray that they would see their need of a Savior and that each of us would learn what it truly means to love one’s neighbor as oneself. I believe that you cannot truly know what it means to do this, until you have experienced the love of Christ. After all, one of the fruits of the Spirit is love. And “Greater love has no one that this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13). This is exactly what Christ did for us. He did this and more as He bore the shame of our sins on the cross and faced the separation from God the Father that we deserve all so that we could come to Him for forgiveness and eternal life, and bring glory to His name as we live our lives proclaiming Him to those around us.