The evidence of man’s inhumanity to man grieves my heart, my
soul, and my mind. David Andreatta, a columnist with the Democrat & Chronicle, quoted Edward Watson’s statement to Mayor
Lovely Warren after the tragedy at the Boys and Girls Club on Genesee Street.
He stated,” Blacks are murdering blacks every 32 hours.” Gun violence in our
city is out of control. I can’t even turn on the news without hearing about
shootings in the City of Rochester. Does someone have to open fire every night?
Don’t even get me started on Russian planes exploding in the
sky because of ISIS bombs or Christians crucified and beheaded in Middle
Eastern countries. Yesterday, four students were stabbed at the University of
California. Not long ago, gun violence hit a community college in Oregon. I
watched a music video last night because the title caught my attention. It was
“Take Me to Church” by Hozier. The longer I watched, the sicker my heart
became. No. I wanted to throw up. By the time the video was finished, I felt
like someone punched me in the stomach, mainly because I knew it was based on a
harsh reality. Gay men in Russia are killed by men dressed in hoodies very
similar to the Ku Klux Klan in their white robes who killed black men out of
their hatred. Where is the humanity?
Movie theatres, college campuses, elementary schools, malls,
the Twin Towers – What is next?
Now I must speak from the heart. On Halloween night, my
granddaughter attended a house party in Henrietta; fortunately, she now
realizes it was not the place to be. A fight ensued, and my granddaughter was
thrown against the wall when she tried to help her friend. The police broke up
the party after a 911 call came in that shots were fired on the premises. My
heart sank. No, my knees hit the floor. When it hits a little closer to home,
you take notice.
I recently had a student in my ENG 101 class who stated that
he didn’t care about the gun violence in the city because it didn’t affect him.
He lived in the suburbs. I wondered if he thought the suburbs had a moat and
fortified walls to protect him. I looked at him and said, “No one is immune.”
Unfortunately, man’s inhumanity to man is growing more violent every day. There are so many reasons for gun violence; in
fact, there are too many to even begin to mention on this blog post. No one is
immune to the spiritual condition of the fallen man.
What I have come to understand is humanity’s last breath is
one of hatred versus love. I know this post sounds like it came from Debbie
Downer or Negative Nancy, but hopefully Encouraging Eva will take you on a
journey toward making the difference by creating a proposal toward a climate of
change.
My prayer this morning was “Father, teach me to love as you
have loved. Let my fear and hatred melt away. Give me the grace to accept the
things I cannot change, but show me the ways I can extend my love. Teach me
Lord for my ways are not your ways.” He answered me immediately in His Word.
Today, my devotions came from Philippians 1. I didn’t look for the answer.
Philippians just happened to be the next chapter in my morning devotions.
Philippians 1:9 says, “And this I pray, that your LOVE may
abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment.” I need to
aggressively chase after the Love of God, but I also need to aggressively love
others. It doesn’t mean I need to be a Bible Thumper and forcefully shove the
gospel down people’s throats. No, I need to demonstrate my love through action.
Yesterday, I taught visual rhetoric. One slide on the Power
Point presentation showed a little boy with a hand around his throat and tears
running down his face. It wasn’t necessarily depicting physical abuse but
verbal abuse. On the arm and hand were hurtful words for any child to hear, words
like “moron,” “idiot,” and “fool.” After class, a young man came up to me and
told me how difficult it was to sit through the presentation, especially when
he saw that picture. He shared with me about the verbal abuse he endured from
his father, and I could see the tears welling up in his eyes. I gave him a hug.
I gave him some counsel about what he could do. My students know I am a Christian.
I openly admit it. I am not ashamed to tell them I will pray for them. It is
the very reason they come to me when they have a problem.
If God can lavish his love on us, we should be willing to
lavish HIS love on those we come in contact with. Who is in your circle of
influence? Do you show God’s love by walking a mile in their shoes? Do you
empathize with them when they are going through a hard time? Do you offer to
pray for them?
I Thessalonians 3:12 says, “…and may the Lord cause you to
increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people…”
I cannot pick and choose who I am going to love. I need to
love the person who shoved my granddaughter into a wall. I need to love the
people who have hurt me with their words and actions. I need to love the
unlovable. I believe we are coming into a horrific time in our world.
Christians may need to stand up to the atrocities against the church. In
standing, we will be marked. Do I love the persecutor? Yes. It is my calling.
“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Love
is not an option. It is a command.
I challenge you today to aggressively chase the love of Go,
which is already readily available to you. Next, aggressively love not only the
people of God within your church circles, but love the people outside the body
of Christ. Love them into the kingdom. Love aggressively!
