I wanted to title this letter “Losing Faith.”
I should clarify my title, I’ve grown up in a very loving Christian home, and continue to worship Him every Sunday. I could argue over the last year my faith has grown and been stronger than I have ever felt it to be. I have so much to be thankful for, so I don’t want any of what I say to take away from that. What I am losing faith in, is people.
Just in the last six months my husband’s truck has been vandalized twice, we have recently been robbed, and we have people who constantly use our property as a meeting ground for fights, cheating on significant others, and the likes. We have bought a handgun (legally, and thank goodness we still have the right) for the protection of ourselves, our two children, and our state of mind. The crime, the innocent people killed, corrupt law enforcers and government placeholders, the monsters that fill our screens constantly, the police logs in the local newspapers taking up more and more space, the local businesses taking on better security measures, people locking their doors for the first time over the course of their life because they feel unsafe in the neighborhood they’ve grown up in. What happened? Where have we gone wrong?
Are we past the point of being able to fix it? I have my own opinions of course, somewhere along the line faith in the Lord, being a Christian and following His word was lost. I know many will disagree and I believe you have the right to disagree. I am in no way trying to say that I think Christians are better people, because I know many who claim to be followers of Christ but their actions show a different story. It takes being a good human being to be a Christian, not just a Sunday service. But I think the world is full of amazing beautiful people inside and out, and they too make the world a better place. But for the sake of this letter I wanted to share some Bible verses that Christian or not everyone could benefit from: Luke 6:27-31 – “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
Luke 6:36-38 – “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. And do not judge and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
Now literally I get it, we can’t give every “tunic” we own etc. But the broad picture has great merit. One of the things our priest asked of us this past week, was think of someone whom we may not exactly get along with — have had troubles with in the past — and ask God for mercy on them. This took me back a little because it’s not one of the things any of us, Christian or not, would think of doing. Who wants to ask for mercy on an enemy, or if not “asking” because you don’t believe, it would be equivalent to completely and utterly forgiving someone for all the wrong they’ve caused without an apology; without hesitation forgiving someone and having compassion. That is a challenge. But how would the world look today if people were forgiving, if people had compassion? If we were capable of looking past our differences and asking for mercy on our enemies? I know it is far-fetched in a world that we live in so full of hate, but I accepted the challenge. I prayed for mercy on my “enemies” and I also asked for comfort. Regardless of Christian or not I challenge all of you, to be forgiving, have compassion on others. It is an overwhelmingly great feeling to forgive. God Bless everyone!
Abby Roleau
Bristol