It's the day after Election day. The day after what some will consider to be a victory and others a very hard defeat. I am not going to sit here and try to persuade you one way or the other because I, myself, am merely a person perched on a fence watching all of this happen. I'm not saying I didn't vote - because I did. But that doesn't mean that I do not have my concerns about the supposed outcome of the election.
This morning I expected to see a news feed packed with statuses about the result. I was not, however, prepared for all of the apologies that filled it. I understand where all of the fear is coming from and I am not saying that it doesn't matter. I hate it that the world today is full of fear that people feel that they must live in. But I encourage everyone, especially those who follow Christ, to not forget to love one another.
Things appear to be headed in a chaotic direction. I know that I have struggled to see what could possibly be good about being in the middle of chaos, but know that there is a certain kind of beauty to the chaos. It's like looking at splatter painting. At first glance it looks like one giant mess, nothing really beautiful about it. But the more you look at it, the more you notice other things - like the different colors that were used. The way the paint landed on the canvas.
Paul wrote in 1 Peter: "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you" (5:10 ESV). Paul is saying that suffering is part of life, but that God will use it for His glory. There is purpose to the chaos that surrounds us. It's not always easy to see what the purpose could possibly be, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. This is true of personal chaos as well as country-wide chaos. Don't forget that God will RESTORE, CONFIRM, STRENGTHEN, and ESTABLISH you after the chaos has served its purpose. I believe that God will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish this country when He sees that the time is right. But right now we need a little chaos. There is a purpose to all of this. I don't know what it is. What I do know is that there is no use in getting all twisted up in knots about it. The more knots in the rope, the less useful it is.
So what can we choose to do right now? We can choose to love on those around us, both domestic and abroad. We can choose to look past the things that make us appear to be different, because at the center of it all we are God's children and He loves us. Because He loves us, we should love others.
Until next time...
Kara