> Saturday, June 13,2020

Be Kind. Always

Image by bknis from Pixabay.com

Be Kind - Always

Years ago a man walked out of my church and announced “You pastors have been leading me astray!”  When queried, he responded, “You have told me for years that the rapture would occur before the tribulation, and now, Ronald Reagan has been elected president!”  He was, of course, joking with me. As the town’s former mayor, he was also a Democrat.

Coexisting in that church full of Democrats and Republicans was a sheriff, a key Republican (with the number 1 on his license plate), more than one former mayor, some powerful men in our local industries, emergency responders, folks in media, education, and so forth. While this was before the days when the radicals took over party leadership, and no one in our church was pro-abortion, etc. our differences were still pronounced. They were also loving and peaceful.

I attribute this to a line of pastors who, in spite of their warts, all taught that our citizenship is first in heaven and that the love of Christ crossed those party lines and brought us all to the level ground at the foot of the cross. Our children learned and worshiped together. As adults, we all rolled up our sleeves and carried out our evangelistic and teaching ministries and fought the same battles in which all churches engage.

We understand that things are not the same today, but the same spirit of Christ can and must prevail among believers within our assemblies and in the community.  Social distancing issues notwithstanding, it's still OK to hug a Democrat or even a Trump supporter. When we open our hearts we also open doors for good, edifying conversations on tough issues.

“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”  Ephesians 4:31,32

Be kind - Always!