scripture and prayer reflection
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Lyrics
You heard the cry of our hearts
And you came down
Freely you gave us your love
Showing us how
Make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred let me sow love
Where there is darkness let me shine light and
May your love cause us to open up
Cause us to open up our hearts
May your light cause us to shine so bright
That we bring hope into the dark
All that we do without love
It means nothing
Grant us the courage to give
As you're calling
Make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred let me show love
Where there is darkness let me shine light and
May your love cause us to open up
Cause us to open our hearts
May your light cause us to shine so bright
That we bring hope into the dark
Hope for the hopeless, your love is
Strength in our weakness, your love is
May we love, as you love
Hope for the hopeless, your love is
Strength in our weakness, your love is
May we love as you love
May we love as you love
May we love as you love
1 Corinthians 13:1-7
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;[b] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 John 4:7-8, 11-12, 20-21
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
John 13:34-35
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Reflection
For many, the last few weeks have held a storm of emotions - anger and grief over deep loss, injustice, and the silent complicity of maintaining the status quo. As I’ve watched people interact online, these emotions are further stirred by the ways that we are responding to one another, particularly among those who would profess to follow Christ.
As believers, our starting and ending place is and always must be love. It doesn’t matter if the person we’re talking with is our closest ally or our worst enemy, since Jesus instructed us to love even our enemies. Love must be the grounding of our interactions with others. It is the quality Jesus intended to define us in the eyes of the world. We are to love, because He loves.
We might truly be right in what we say and do, and still Paul writes that if it is not birthed out of love it is meaningless, like an empty noise. In the current upheaval and fight for justice, some may have valid points as they speak out. Some may have vitally important perspectives to share. But for those who follow Christ, they must come out of love.
So for those speaking out and seeking justice, Jesus calls us to do so in love - and not just love for the oppressed whom you are defending, but also, radically, for the oppressors who are broken human beings under the weight of sin as well. Love both groups of broken human beings, image-bearers of our God.
For those upset with others who don’t seem to be taking enough action to bring about justice, call them to do so in love. Jesus’ life reveals that speaking in love can take many forms: a gentle reminder, a firm rebuke, an encouraging exhortation. But His words are always grounded in love and are aimed at constructing God’s Kingdom. While injustice and apathy must be confronted, tearing down those who don’t measure up as allies can easily supplant and distract from the real aim of speaking up for the oppressed.
For those praying, pray in love. For those acting, act in love. No matter what. This is what will shine as light and hope in the darkness. This is what Jesus calls us to. We imitate Him as He loves those we are interacting with, no matter which side of this fight they are on.
Take some time to reflect on your own experience. When conflict comes up, how do you tend to respond to the opposing party? When is a time in your life when you reacted poorly in a conflict? How do you wish you had responded? Sit with the passage from 1 John, and ask God if there is something He would want you to notice in your own heart. Talk with Him about what comes up.
Close by praying the song’s refrain:
Make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred let me sow love
Where there is darkness let me shine light and
May your love cause us to open up
Cause us to open up our hearts
May your light cause us to shine so bright
That we bring hope into the dark
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