The children of others
Are still children. And they are still loved by God.
I felt a real nod from God last week to take myself out of the political conversation and into the conversation of what it truly means to follow Jesus. In the wake of political unrest and the work of immigration enforcement coming out in unprecendented amounts, I am finding it hard to understand how I can express my views without sounding political. Because my feelings really aren’t. I don’t want to say my conviction is bigger than America, but in a way it cares not about America, but more about individuals. It is very hard for me, being inundated as I am cross-culturally, to see the lines of birth that divide us.
So I have to look on people as merely human. Fallible, forgiveable, and loved by a God who is so good he has loved me through all my crap. And I wonder how, or if, things could be different if we could all start to think of the world’s children as our own children. I have not yet born my first child, but I know that I do love those around me, even if it isn’t in the same magical way. And when I was thinking about these young people, imprisoned sometimes for their parents’ decisions, I thought to myself “I cannot condemn the children of others to things I would never condemn my own children to.”
But then I thought deeper, and I remembered very sheepishly that every child is God’s child, and when faced with condemnation Jesus first gives a chance for redemption. Why is this so hard for us, and would it be, if we could see every child as our child, or every human as a human. Fallible. Just like us.
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Jesus, the one being followed, said that if we are not willing to leave mother, father, brother, sister, houses and lands for his sake, we are not worthy of the Kingdom. In that respect, if we allow our patriotism or nationality to color our followership we have chosen the former over the latter. Always follow and never, never fall in the party line.
Luke records the words of Jesus…suffer the children to come to me, and do not forbid them, for such is the Kingdom of God.
Love the children! Love the world! Love people.
Congrats on your pregnancy!! That is wonderful!
Your entry here speaks volumes to me. It would be an ideal place if people viewed others with those lens, if people saw others as children of God. He loves them so much, just as a parent would an imperfect child. I feel my fallibility quite often, so I try not to judge others as harshly. However, when I do, I have to remind myself that those people belong to God. Have you read The Shack? It gives a pretty interesting perspective on God’s love for His children.
I don’t know if this helps, but here are some reminders you made for yourself earlier. I love you.
* Stop listening to old theologies and read the Bible!
* Stop hearing opinions and start reading facts- from this country and around the globe.
* Never think of America as the promised land, rather, start thinking about the globe as the promised people (when Christ died he died for all).
* Do not think of what you have or can have, and instead what you can give.
* Refrain from looking at politics like a game, instead, support and stand up for only those things that Jesus believed in (realizing that might not always serve your best interest).
* Don’t give up. You can make change. Every life, every person is an opprtunity.