Thoughts from your region minister
By Ken Marston, Regional Minister
I sat down two or three times to write this article. Each time I found myself having difficulty getting a news story out of my mind. The story was about a man in Florida who drove his vehicle into a tent where people were registering to vote. The reason he said he did this was because he did not like an elected official.
No matter what pollical party or philosophic orientation we may be, such a barbaric act should appall us all! In fact, there can be no justification to violently seek to injure people who have done nothing but try to register to vote. Violence is not the answer to disagreements.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “You have heard it said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,’ but I say to you, do not resist the evildoer.” (Matt 5:38-39) A few verses later he says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven;…” (Matt. 5:43-45a) In 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul reminds us that no matter how great our knowledge or abilities are if we do not love, we are nothing. Loving others as God loves is fundamental to who we are as Christians.
My friends, it is time that we who claim to follow Jesus start loving all people or stop pretending we follow Him!