Hate may fill the hole in a wounded soul, but just for a while. It may fire a sense of purpose and drive. It may be the admission ticket to a sense of belonging but hate of other human beings can never coexist for long in the same space with the love, grace, mercy, and justice that are the character of God. Eventually, one will overtake the other.
If hate wins, it will consume you until nothing left of you as God intended will be recognizable. That’s what hate does. It destroys the soul even as it fools you into thinking you are right and superior to others. Pray it’s the love, grace, mercy, and justice of God to which you surrender. It will save your soul. It will give you a life worth living in the grand communion of the children of God “from whom every family on earth takes its name.” It will convert you to the politics of Jesus, which are neither left nor right.
The politics of Jesus are shaped by the cross of Christ and look like the Powerful-become-powerless that sacrificial love would reign. It looks like “Bless those who persecute you.” It looks like “Love one another” and “Love your enemy” too. It’s colorblind in its application while being fully reflective of the magnificent panoply of the colors of humanity.
It opens pathways to forgiveness, including the forgiveness of self we all need to love and respect oneself as the beloved child of God, too. It motivates integrity in relationships and advocacy for the young, the old, the hurting, the hungry, the poor and the poor in spirit.
It is full of the light of Christ which illumines the Way to eternal life and stands against the gates of hell unleashed through anger, a misappropriated sense of outrage, or just the resident evil latent or active in human hearts.
“Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” Open your heart. Reach out your hand. Let God who we have come to know in the crucified Jesus have God’s way in you.
Still a pilgrim, bg