Loving one another...

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
~ Matthew 5:44

According to UNICEF, there are approximately 4 human beings born every second. What a staggering number of births! Around the world that is about 353,000 babies born each day!

While it is also estimated that there are approximately 151,000 people dying each day.

With all these births and deaths, it really makes one wonder how God does it! It also makes me realize that I have been one statistic on one day, and I will be another at some point. We ALL have been and will be.

As the world continues to increase in population, and we all struggle for space, identity, and community, it seems that that instead of coming closer together and working to find ways for harmony, we tend to find things to separate us even more.

It's not just about lines drawn on a map that signify geographic areas. It goes beyond that.

Their are other ways. We can all name at least one, two, or three.

The Kingdom of God will usher in a "new" way of looking at one another, understanding of community and wholeness.

While we deal with our own needs, which often include our own fears and anxieties about others, we tend to divide people into "us" and "them."

Even among families. You have inlaws, outlaws, and those that are somewhere in between!

One thing is for certain, God doesn't divide the world. The same heavens that bring rain to our dry land, also provide moisture from heaven to our neighbors. It is the same sun that we bask in on beautiful spring days, that those half way around the world also embrace.

God loves everyone uniquely and unconditionally. Our God wants us to do the same, but we can only do that if we believe in God's unconditional love for us.

Loving our enemies, or simply those different than us, means we will need to learn to no longer divide the world. Unconditional love means that we look beyond our obvious differences while bringing hope and encouragement to a world that we know continues to change each day.

While we consider the close to 353,000 new lives that enter the world each day, that is reflective of how many new ways we must learn to love one another. While 151,000 leave us wondering if we loved them enough?

Loving one another is the best reflection of how God loves, and loves each of us, collectively

Stay in God's grip!

​G. Todd Williams (c) 2018