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Bleed the Same

"Only love can drive out all the darkness
What are we fighting for?
We were made to carry one another
We were made for more"-"Bleed the Same"~Mandisa

Late last week, I was on Twitter, and I noticed quite a few posts about the school shooting that occurred on Valentine's Day. Most of the posts called for people to pray for the victims and their families, but others took a more combative tone on the issue. One of the ones that was particularly disturbing to me came from someone who is not only a good friend of mine, but also a Christian role model. This person insinuated that Republicans are a bunch of hypocrites because they call for immigration reform following terrorist attacks but don't want the shooting to be politicized because the families of the victims need to be left alone to grieve. Unfortunately, this is just the latest in a series of divisive tweets I have seen recently from this person, and they are by no means the only one doing this.

In the lead up to the 2016 election, the fighting between Republicans and Democrats reached a crescendo, and the results have not cooled it even well over a year later, and unfortunately, many of those engaging in these divisive battles are Christians. Division and destruction are the devil's game, and it is sad to see so many of my brothers and sisters in Christ aiding him in the fight. Like the song above says, we were made for more than this fighting and perpetuating the darkness that is slowly settling over this country. We were all created by God, and we all bleed the same red blood, so this division is doing us no good at all, and easily could destroy this country.

Our country is hurting and needs Jesus now more than ever, and it is up to us as Christians to help make Him well known in our great land. We don't want our country to succumb to the dire prediction made by Casting Crowns over a decade ago in their song "While You Were Sleeping" when they asked the question, "America, will we go down in history as a nation with no room for its King?" However, this dismal future continues to look more and more likely as Christianity is pushed out of public places and Christians fail to live up to their God-given assignment to be holy.

So how can we fix this? By filtering everything we say or post through the screen of Philippians 4:8 before we say or post it. The verse states, "Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Another scripture to consider is Ephesians 4:29, " Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear." When we let these two scriptures guide us in our words to others, we treat others as beloved children of God. We can fix this broken nation, but only by showing others the love of Christ, and allowing His love to drive out the darkness surrounding us.

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