Radical Love in the midst of terror

Yesterday people in Orlando experienced one of the most hateful and evil acts of humankind.  There is no justification for what happened—no matter how hard we try to figure out why.

There is no justification for what happened. Nothing will make this understandable.  Presumably the victims were Latin and gay, male and female.  One person made the determination to act and put human beings through hours of terror that will last their lifetimes.  

In the meantime, the candidates for president of both parties are using this as a talking point—finding the opportunity to take another stand against their opponents.  In one interview a candidate said that we need to stop immigrants from Syria—the shooter was born in New York, and his parents were born in Afghanistan.  One candidate is upset because the other won’t call it radical Islam and the other is accusing the other because they won’t call it a hate crime.

The reality is, 50 people lost their lives and 50 plus were physically injured.  Countless are emotionally and spiritually changed forever.  One person took it upon themselves to cause this kind of pain.  

In the midst of the nightmare of evil, God’s grace and kingdom continue to shine.  We saw lines on TV of people standing in line for over 5 hours in order to donate blood.  Islamic leaders of Orlando clarified that this act is not in accord with the love taught by the Islamic faith.  Families are comforting other families. I ask myself what I can do.

I believe that we as Christians are called to be radical—and that word does not mean violent!  I use the word radical to mean that we need to go to the extreme of our faith, beyond what is comfortable and love as Jesus loves.  The command was to love God, and love our neighbor as ourselves.  Our neighbors are defined by our Sunday School kids as everyone-it seems only when we come to adulthood that neighbor narrows.

And when we love with this radical love of Jesus, there will be no fear.  I believe that at the root of hate is fear, that of which we do not understand.  1 John speaks to love, there is no fear in love. There are those who want us to live in fear; but when we do, we can’t live in love.  

As I read “Rediscover Jesus,” I am moved to embrace the love Jesus had for people.  There was no fear.  Yes, he spoke out against behavior that was not helpful to the community, toward those who used law over love.  In the end, it is love, radical love that led Jesus to the cross for all people.  All people-I don’t read any not included in the parenthesis. 

There will continue to be acts of evil done in the name of whatever or whoever.  People will continue to do evil things even in the name of God- whether we know God as Jehovah, Elohim, Jesus, or Allah—God does not call us to hate.   We don’t combat evil with evil, we fight with love.  So I suggest we put on Christ, the armor of God, and love, radically love.