Good morning…
Watching the footage of yesterday’s siege on the U.S. Capitol building, our youngest son asked, “If I have kids, do you think images from this day will be in their history books?” We agreed that we were watching history in the making.
Reconvening after the violence, leaders in the House and the Senate were each given five minutes to express their thoughts before confirming the Electoral College votes cast in November’s election. As these elected men and women spoke, my mind trailed back to the recent passing of U.S. Congressman John Lewis, who was respected by many as an integral part of the conscience of the Congress. What words might he have shared?
“Lean towards the whispers of your own heart, discover the universal truth, and follow its dictates,” Lewis once said. “Know that the truth always leads to love and the perpetuation of peace. Its products are never bitterness and strife. Clothe yourself in the work of love, in the revolutionary work of nonviolent resistance against evil. Anchor the eternity of love in your own souls and embed this planet with goodness. Release the need to hate, to harbor division, and the enticement of revenge.”
“Release all bitterness,” Lewis encouraged. “Hold only love, only peace in your heart, knowing that the battle of good to overcome evil is already won. Choose confrontation wisely, but when it is your time don’t be afraid to stand up, speak up, and speak out against injustice. And if you follow your truth down the road to peace and the affirmation of love, if you shine like a beacon for all to see, then the poetry of all the great dreamers and philosophers is yours to manifest in a nation, a world community, and a Beloved Community that is finally at peace with itself.”
John Lewis’s words walk in step with the Word of God.
In this new creation life, your nationality makes no difference, or your ethnicity, education, or economic status—they matter nothing. For it is Christ that means everything as he lives in every one of us!
You are always and dearly loved by God! So robe yourself with virtues of God, since you have been divinely chosen to be holy. Be merciful as you endeavor to understand others, and be compassionate, showing kindness toward all. Be gentle and humble, unoffendable in your patience with others. Tolerate the weaknesses of those in the family of faith, forgiving one another in the same way you have been graciously forgiven by Jesus Christ. If you find fault with someone, release this same gift of forgiveness to them. For love is supreme and must flow through each of these virtues. Love becomes the mark of true maturity.
Let your heart be always guided by the peace of the Anointed One, who called you to peace as part of his one body. And always be thankful (Colossians 3:11-15, TPT).
Letting God’s love lead, our feet follow the path of peace.
…Sue…
P.S. Thanks to our dear friend Martha Tate who brought this John Lewis quote to life in her recent blog post Practicing Peace.
