A Time To Mourn, A Time To Speak, A Time To Love

Baton Rouge. Falcon Heights. Dallas. The recent horrific events that have taken place in these three cities have caused heartache, pain, anger and the deepest forms of mourning.

And they should.

No matter our differences, if there is one thing we can agree on today it's that this is not how it's supposed to be. We should not be watching men shot down on video. Children should never have the lasting memory of watching their father shot and killed right before them. Those who stand to protect and serve should not be senselessly killed for any reason. This is not right. This was never how things were supposed to be.

So we should feel the depth of sorrow these events have caused as a nation. We should feel sick to our stomachs at these tragedies   because if something breaks God's heart then it should break ours too. My dear friend so eloquently put on my Facebook page:

"We can heal it if we can feel it. We can heal from this but we got to take time to mourn".

Do you feel it? Do you feel the dark cloud hovering over America today? I do and I mourn with the families of all those who lost a loved one. I mourn with all those who lost the security they once had for their sons and daughters, husbands and brothers. I mourn the peace we have lost as a nation in exchange for fear and the love we have lost in exchanged for hate.

In my mourning and praying the Lord placed the story of Esther on my heart. She was an orphan who rose to be the Queen of Persia. She was a Jew and was raised by her uncle Mordecai. During her reign as Queen a man named Haman persuaded the King of Persia to sign  an edict that would destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews. When Mordecai heard this he and all the Jews mourned, wept and fasted. The Bible tells us:

“When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. - Esther 4:1 NIV

When Esther heard of Mordecai's mourning she "sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth" (Esther 4:4). Although she felt bad she wanted to stop the mourning without addressing it's cause. A move Mordecai was not about to fall for so he refused the clothes. Mordecai understood that covering up the feelings would not stop the evil that was about to take place. He would not pretend like everything was alright when there were people's lives on the line. His mourning would not be silenced. Mordecai understood that if we don't take time to process the heaviness of our situation we forfeit the passion and power to do something about it. We then become numb and ineffective. Jesus tells us:

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. - Matthew 5:4 NIV

If we harden our hearts, if we turn away, if we think it won't happen to us, if we remain silent we are part of the problem. If we ignore the pain and hurt around us, if we don't share in the suffering of our brothers and sisters we stifle the comfort that comes from mourning. There is something about carrying the heaviness of a matter that strengthens us to produce the comfort and change we desperately crave. 

So can we cry out to the Lord today? Can we be honest with Him about how we feel? Can we face the sorrow of loss? I know it's heavy lifting, but it's lifting that will give us the strength to heal and the power to create a more promising future. So If there was ever a time to mourn, it's now.

A TIME TO SPEAK

It was the mourning of Mordecai that caused Esther to finally rise up and speak up. Mordecai sent word to Esther about the evil the Jews were facing and asked that she approach the king about the matter. She responded that she could not approach the king if she was not summoned. If she did she would risk losing her life. It would be easier for Esther to remain silent. It would be better for her to muffle her cries, however at the expense of an entire group of people. Mordecai responds:

“Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” - Esther 4:13-14 NIV

Esther's silence would not save her people and it would not save her either. Silence is never the answer to evil, hate and terror. So now is not the time to be silent. Now is not the time to worry about what our Facebook friends will think. God has given us a voice to cry out against the injustice and evil around us. We should be using our voice not only for ourselves but for all injustice no matter how close or far we perceive it will affect us. Martin Luther King once said:

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." 

Evil does not discriminate. If we do not rise up and speak against it, we are all at risk. So if there was ever a time to speak, it's now.

A TIME TO LOVE

In all our mourning and speaking we cannot forget to love. The Bible tells us:

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” - 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NIV

We must continue to love through all of this. And I don't mean the cute and cliché love that's only nice and cordial when things are good. I mean the hard, messy, real and sacrificial love that pushes through our differences to unify. The type of love that listens to others we might not initially agree with. Love that opens our hearts, ears and lives to nonjudgmental conversations. Love that looks for the sincere and good intentions of our brothers and sisters even through mourning, weariness and anger. The type of love that places ourselves in someone else's shoes to see how to love them even more. It's exercising patience as we work though the growing pains of unifying in the midst of brokenness.

As Christians we should never allow any tragedy to cause us to forget that a house divided cannot stand. We must stand together by choosing love. We cannot forget that no matter how different our options are we are not each others enemies. Our real enemy is the one trying to tear us apart. We cannot afford to let that happen. So let's not forget the power we have as Holy Spirit dwelling believers to bring healing through unity. Let's not forget that this is our calling.

One of Jesus' last prayers for us before His crucifixion was that we would be one (John 17:20-21). Jesus laid His life down so we can be united together. And His blood grants us more in common than any race, any political party and any opinion. So we can't be afraid to mourn with our brothers and sisters. We can't be afraid to speak out as one against injustice. We can't be afraid to love when it hurts, when it's unpopular, inconvenient or uncomfortable. Because fear does not win, love does. So if there was ever a time to love, it's now.