A Countercultural Remedy...


As I lay awake last night, after watching the footage over and over again of the events that took place at the Capitol, I struggled to find words to articulate what I was feeling.  When I started a blog years ago, I was deep in the pain of an infertility journey and writing became therapeutic in a way.  I loved finding ways to be transparent and honest, yet hopeful, in some of what felt like the darkest days of my life.

Enter the past 24 hours.  Darkness has felt as though it has pervaded every space.  Darkness in the form of Hatred.  Violence.  Racism.  Division.  Disrespect.  Chaos.  Insurrection.

And then there are the images that I can't seem to get out of my head.  Images that represent so much more than an attack on the Capitol.  Words seem inadequate.

This morning I dropped my son off at school, a little earlier than normal, and watched him walk to front door and wait outside in line.  As I drove away, tears began to sting my cheeks.  This is the world that we are raising our kids in.  This is the world in which my kids will have to find their place and their voice.  Its the place where my kids will have the choice every day how they will live their life.  

How will they respond to people whose opinion is different from theirs?  

How will they treat the people around them, especially those who are harder to love?

What will matter most to them?  

What will they say to those who judge them or treat them different because of the color their skin?

Will they choose to speak up even when it's hard?

Will they live and love like Jesus?

Living and loving like Jesus isn't for the faint at heart.  It's countercultural.  It requires intentionality.  And it's not always popular.  But it is the remedy for the darkness.

Everyday, our choices either bring more light or more darkness into the world.  There is no neutral.  Every word, every encounter, every response.

Jesus isn't a big fan of the darkness.  He has quite a bit to say about the power of light.  In fact, he tells us that he is the light.  And if stick with him...darkness doesn't stand a chance (my paraphrase of John 12:46).

But he doesn't stop there.  Remember that song we learned in Sunday School when we were 5 years old?  The one about letting our little lights shine?  He's still all about that.  In fact, he reminds us in Matthew 5, "You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world.  God is not a secret to be kept.  We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill."

God colors.  

Maybe we've forgotten what those look like.  Grace.  Unity.  Compassion.  Kindness.  Equality.  Humility.  Gentleness.  Mercy.  Advocacy.  Unconditional Love.

Martin Luther King once said, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

Our choices matter.  Our words matter.  How we choose to love...deeply matters.

Maybe it's time to flip the switch.



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