Diversity of thought doesn’t bother God. When Jesus gathered his disciples he had close friends from all walks of life- rich, poor, a radical zealot (determined to fight and over throw Roman rule) and a tax collector (one of the hated class of people enforcing the system of heavy taxation from Rome). Obviously, Jesus didn’t let human categories get in the way of how he saw or treated people: a rich young ruler, a Roman centurion, a Samaritan woman, a demoniac from Gesarene, it didn’t matter who you were, where you were from, what you had done, or what you believed about life- he could see past the circumstances that had made up your choices, past the outward show and into the motive -the very leaning- of your heart.
Jesus was kind to the people that the world condemned. He noticed the ones who were not considered valuable. He cultivated relationships with the untouchables and despised. His harshest words were for those who held power and willfully used it to oppress or harm others.
I was asking God tonight about everything going on in our nation, wondering how it looks from his perspective, and I was reminded about the political extremes in the 12 disciples.
Ultimately, he was able to bridge the gap between such huge social conflict because he wasn’t invested in maintaining or overthrowing human power structures. It wasn't about acquiring or holding onto power- getting a place at the table, protecting your rights, or righting the wrongs (or perceived wrongs) of society- his mission was to bring heaven to earth. It’s about reuniting people with the Source of life- their Creator and loving Heavenly Father who will stop at nothing to have His children gathered to Him.
It’s about expanding our capacity to love one another, to overlook offenses, and to see each other as the miracles we are- the astounding, unique, one-in-an-infinite persons who are loved in ways that we just can’t even imagine.
So Jesus looks at our nation and he sees. He sees people who are scared- people who are angry- people who want to peacefully represent their views and people who enjoy agitating and giving the middle finger to societal norms. He sees people who want to build up, people who want to remodel, people who want to burn it all down and start over. He sees people checking their stocks and bank accounts- he sees the wheeling and dealing, all the off the record deals. He sees people trying to explain what is happening and recategorizing events to uphold their version of reality. He sees people unable to step out of their own self-imposed box of constructs. Jesus sees the people who don’t want to let a crisis go to waste and those who want to grab power ‘like a pussy’ and those who are so entrenched in their own desires that the whole world is just like a checkerboard- with others as plastic pieces to manipulate and throw away. Jesus sees the people who are desperate- who have been used and who are or have experienced losses that most of us can’t (or choose not to) imagine.
Jesus sees the people who are grieving. Jesus sees the people who have been discriminated against. Jesus sees the people who have discriminated against them. Jesus sees the people who are trying to understand and the ones who know that they are right even if everyone else is wrong. Jesus sees the poll watchers, the fact checkers, the tone police. Jesus sees the people who trying to do the right thing and feeling betrayed at every turn. Jesus sees the ones who don’t care what happens “out there” as long as they are safe. Jesus sees the people who are salvaging their reputations and the people who are using the fallout to strengthen their position. Jesus sees the people who love the downfall of their enemies and want to rub it in their faces a little more. Jesus sees the people who just long to “get a little of their own back...”. Jesus sees the transgender person who just wants to be called the right pronoun. Jesus sees the church goer and the boomer and the octogenarian who just can’t believe what this world is coming to. Jesus sees the people who have lost loved ones from an impartial, implacable virus and who haven’t seen friends or family in months and months. Jesus sees the people who don’t know anyone who has gotten really sick, believe this “pandemic” is a charade and refuse to wear a mask in public. Jesus sees the tired-the overworked- the underpaid-the overqualified- the nurse, the teacher, and the grocery store worker who are counting the days until they have a vaccine and 600 dollars means they might break even for another month. Jesus sees the people who have lost or who are in the process of loosing their businesses- watching how a sudden, unexpected shift of fortune means a life time of work is disappearing. Jesus sees the person who is not going to read this far and he sees the person who will read it and immediately start finding things wrong with it.
Jesus sees them and he loves them all- because who they are, what they think, where they have been, what they have done, and what they believe is true about the world doesn’t matter as much as the fact that they are a special, unique, one-in-an-infinite child who is searching for something that won’t fail, or abuse, or change, or stop, or turn away. Something that gives it all meaning that can’t be taken away. They need their Abba and He wants to be with them.
Jesus sees you. And he loves you- you crazy, stubborn, wonderful, broken, careless one-in-an-infinite you.
So don’t worry about the people who think differently than you today. Don’t worry about what they think or want to do. That is small potatoes in the Kingdom. Jesus loves us (and them) and there’s not a damn thing that they can do to alter that fact.
So revel in His love today and, if you get a chance, show it to someone who looks like they think differently than you.
