#AllSoulsMatter

Tonight I write on a subject that has been on my heart for more than a year.  It has weighed heavy on my heart and in all honesty, I didn't want to broach the subject.  I tend to shy away from headlines, and things that may get people's attention.  I don't seek notoriety or people's praise, I simply write what I write based on how the Holy Spirit leads me.  Let's get on with it...

Tonight's post is about (gulp) Ferguson.  I work less than 5 miles away from Ferguson.  I have seen the protests, watched the news stories, and even been in the traffic related to the protests.  I must confess that I have felt anger during some of these things.  I kept being inconvenienced and I would get angry.  "How dare they..." I would think.  Slowly over the past year, God has softened my heart and given me a word from Himself.  The scripture passage I wish to discuss tonight is Colossians 3:1-17 (pay special attention to verses 12-14).

"3
1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. "
I have come to the conclusion that Justice, Love, and Mercy are separate from each other and not conditional upon each other.  I do not intend to martyr Michael Brown nor make excuses for his actions.  What I would like to do is ask, where is the grief for Him?  Did he commit wrong doings?  Yes.  Did that put him out of reach of God's mercy and love?  No!!  This should grieve all who call themselves Christ followers.  Verses 12-14 tell us to put on compassion, kindness, humility, & forgiveness, because we too have been forgiven.  Regardless of his actions, Christ still died on the cross for him.  He was not beyond the saving grace of Jesus.  I found myself saying things like "That's what you get for not obeying the law"...how heartless is that?  How does that show Jesus to Michael Brown or his Family?  I don't see any connection to love with this way of thinkings.  Michael was a son, and at one point a small child!  At what age did he become "expendable"?  At what age did he become "too bad for Jesus"?  The answer is he never did.  God is willing to meet us wherever we are and can change us from whatever we are.  I am not taking sides for or against any person involved, rather I am taking sides with God.  God loves us ALL, even though he detests our sin.  He sent His only son to suffer and die on a cross for our sin, so that ALL of us may have access to Himself and eternal life by grace through faith.  
What I have learned through this, and what is most poignantly on my heart is that God loves us all and all of us have great value...and we should treat each other accordingly.  We must stop writing off people (made in the image of God people!) and start seeking to share the love of Christ with them, and watch God work.  All souls matter to God...ALL!
The application for myself in all of this is to stop being angry every time someone does something and instead remember that they are a sinner just like me and desperately in need of God.  I should love them and tell them about Jesus.  Without quoting a large number of passages, the key principles at play here are: Love covers a multitude of wrongs, God extends mercy and grace to us and we are to do the same to others, we should not be surprised by lost people that sin, sin is sin and none is greater than another in the eyes of God...it is either sin or it isn't.
This has been on my heart so much lately because I don't understand how we as a society have lost touch with loving one another and instead care more about spinning perspective into views of right vs. wrong, opinion vs. opinion, lies vs. facts, etc.  When I watch the news, instead of feeling judgement and anger, I feel sorrow.  Sorrow because of what I don't see, and that is Christians pushing past sin to tell people that there is a cure for it and his name is Jesus.  
There are many challenges that face people growing up, from poverty, abuse, broken homes, drugs, violence, etc.  When people grow up not knowing about God, or having not embraced Jesus, why are we surprised when bad things happen?  More importantly, what can we do about it?  The single biggest failure in America today is isolationism of Christians...and it is self imposed, not forced on us by the government, or anyone else.  We must take the gospel into our local communities, and make a difference there.  True change starts with a single heart turning to Christ.  When I think about the happenings in Ferguson, the hard questions to me are this:
How could we as Christians have helped Michael Brown, his family, and his friends?  Why are we so focused on the sin and not loving those lost or left behind?How can we now help his family, friends, and community?  How do we do this in every community around the world?
The answer is we need to love one another, turn the other cheek, share the gospel, build relationships, stop focusing on why sinners sin and bring them to the sin doctor Jesus.  Minister to families and let them know that God loves EVERYONE and Jesus died for EVERYONE.  Be a community of believers that points people to Jesus.  The apostles took the gospel message to the world and set it on fire and the same Holy Spirit is with us today...but we must obey and GO.  We must stop being isolationists, keeping Jesus in a little box, and only speaking about Him in church. 
If you don't like what you see on the news...do something about it...and that starts with telling a lost world about Jesus...whether they want to hear it or not.