Cindy Powell

Last week I posted some musings on a variety of things. This paragraph was included:

Love wins. Period. There is no person, no program, no politics, and no policy that can eliminate the division in our nation, or the darkness that is so prevalent in this world. It should go without saying that dogmatically expressing our opinions without a clear redemptive purpose doesn’t help. We are supposed to stand in the gap, not widen it. The only power great enough to bridge any divide, and enlighten any darkness, is the love of God…Because love wins. Period.

I’ve needed to remember those words over this past week. I try not to allow the political environment to get under my skin, but this past week it did get to me. It got to me because I saw just how far we’ve drifted from true North.

I saw just how far we’ve drifted from love. 

I love my country. There are certain things I hope and pray my country will stand for, and certain things I hope and pray it will not. As an American citizen, I exercise my right to vote, and I allow my voice to be heard when and where God specifically directs me. But in all of this, I am keenly aware that I am not just a citizen of the U.S.

I am a citizen of heaven.

As a citizen of heaven, I bow to heaven’s rule and not to the ideology of a political party, or that of any individual or group.  My allegiance is to one King and one Lord. His name is Jesus. He is not a Republican. He is not a Democrat. His kingdom does not even remotely align with the ideology of either extreme.

His kingdom aligns with love. 

And, for the record, that includes love for those with whom we disagree.

Love does not mean there are no consequences for our actions. It does not mean anything goes. It does not mean there is no right or wrong. The principles of reaping and sowing are alive and well and functioning in full swing.

So perhaps we ought to pay attention to what we’re sowing in these troubled times?

In case you haven’t noticed, our country in the midst of a civil war. It is a war of ideology. Each side has those who claim to know God’s heart in the matter. Yet each side is limited in their perspective.  Each side has extremists who claim to speak for the majority on their side. They don’t. Yet the majority on the other side tends to believe they do.

It’s utter madness. It’s madness that reeks of witchcraft, control, hatred, and fear.

The very opposites of love.

We’re being played, folks–and it needs to stop.

In the kingdom there is no us and them. There is only us. If we weren’t so blinded by our need to claim the moral high ground, perhaps we’d be able to see we really are on the same team. Perhaps we’d spend more time praying than postulating on Facebook. Perhaps we’d spend more time listening than assuming.

Perhaps we’d spend more time actually following Jesus than than trying to convince everyone that following Him should look just like following us. 

Following isn’t about theory or winning the war of words. It’s about being His hands and feet in real time, in real situations, among real people.

My heart hurts over the extreme level of foolishness and self-righteousness being  displayed in our nation. And folks, there is plenty of blame to go around on that one. I ache over the Church’s inability to consistently discern good from evil. We have become so very easily distracted.

Mostly, I’m shocked that we so often forget who the real enemy is.

But I am an eternal optimist. I’m eternally optimistic because I have a God who does the impossible. He loves to take the things the enemy meant for evil and use them for good.  So despite the challenges,  I’m not dismayed. I’m not wringing my hands. I’m not even particularly discouraged.

Because I’ve read the end of the Book. And guess what?

Love wins. 

I want to get on the winning team now.

Lord help us to live out of the truth of your never failing love. Because love wins. Period.