“It’s been 100 days since Mike Brown was killed in Ferguson, Missouri, and the grand jury responsible for deciding whether to indict Police Officer Darren Wilson in the death of the 18-year-old could deliver its decision any day.
The incident on the afternoon of Aug. 9 sparked outrage, riots and protests in and around the St. Louis suburb, and has inspired a national debate about police brutality, race relations and civil rights. Now officials, business owners and residents in Missouri are worried that protests over Brown’s death — which sparked violent standoffs with police, looting and vandalism in the immediate aftermath — could resurface with renewed fervor if the grand jury decides not to indict Wilson, 28.” THE DECODER VOICE
The above headlines greeted me today when I checked the news feed on my computer. I would venture to say that everyone who read these words – including those of you who are reading them right now – had, or are having, a visceral response to the news print. I don’t believe there is anyone living in this area that hasn’t formed their own opinion about “what happened” and what the outcome “should be”. But the ramifications of that unfortunate situation will undoubtedly go beyond the tragic incident itself, because extraneous agendas have surfaced that have ignited the flames of racism, mistrust and hatred. History has shown that nothing good results from such a recipe. While everyone claims to want “justice” in this case, the definition of the word would probably vary greatly depending on who was asked.
Unfortunately we live in a culture today that is quick to label people or ideas in an attempt to define “who they are”. He or she is “liberal” or “conservative”, “Republican” or “Democrat”, “black” or “white”, “Christian” or “Muslim”, “gay” or “straight”. But what I have learned from my few years on this earth is…a person is defined, not by a label, but by the innermost part of their being…the state of their heart. This is where we find honor, integrity and character.
Luke 6:45 tells us, “A good person produces good deeds from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil deeds from an evil heart. Whatever is in your heart determines what you say.” And Mark 7:21 states, “ For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you and make you unacceptable to God.” Conversely, a good heart, or a heart filled with the Holy Spirit, produces “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control”. (Galatians 5: 22-23) Martin Luther King poetically restated those scriptures when he “dreamed of a day when a man would be judged by the content of his character and not by the color of his skin”.
John 8:31 tells us about Jesus’ directive to his disciples; “If you follow my teachings, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” And what did Jesus teach? His message was simple, yet profound: to love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind; to love our neighbor as our self; forgiveness, mercy, grace and service to others. When I look back on 9/11, I can’t help but think to myself that if the pilots flying the planes into the World Trade Center would have had the love of Jesus in their hearts, 9/11 would not have happened. But instead they were filled with a hatred for a life-style and an ideology that was contrary to theirs. When I look at Ferguson, the same thought crosses my mind.
But truth be told, we live in a fallen world that is satan’s playground, and he never fails to capitalize on a tragic situation such as Ferguson. And when we see the truth of Mark 7:21 (two paragraphs above) playing out in people’s words and actions, we can be sure that he and his evil minions are present. But for those of us who are in Christ, this is also the perfect opportunity to let the light of Jesus shine through us.
As Christ-followers, we are called to a higher standard than the world around us because we have committed ourselves to following Jesus’ teachings. We are called to love our neighbor and to show forgiveness, mercy and grace. Putting those principles into practice is always a challenge, but the upcoming days will be especially difficult because in today’s techno-world, nothing that is said or done will escape the scrutiny of the media.
Jesus set the bar high in John 13: 34-35 when he stated, “Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” In other words, we are to love and forgive others just as God has loved and forgiven us. Is that an impossible task? Well… if we are attempting to succeed through our own effort, it most often proves to be so. However, God’s salvation plan prepares us for such an endeavor.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to empower us to do what we cannot do for ourselves. Jesus knew his disciples drew their strength from him. That is why he told them, “I will not abandon you as orphans, but I will ask the Father to send another Counselor, the Holy Spirit, to lead you into all truth.” (John 15: 16-17) So when we call on the Holy Spirit to empower us with wisdom, patience, courage, strength, restraint, whatever it is we need to be God’s ambassador in challenging situations, 1John 4:4 tells us we are already victorious: “He that is me (the Holy Spirit) is greater than he (satan) that is in this world.” Standing on this Truth is how we let the love of Jesus shine through us.
These upcoming days will be an opportunity to show those around us through our words and our deeds, what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Therefore, let us not forget who we are in Christ and the wisdom contained in the following statement: “People would much rather see a sermon than hear one.”
May God bless ya, and feel free to respond to this post. Also, feel free to share this with your social media friends.
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
[…] Sometimes subjects are so obvious even I can see them. And such has been the case with Ferguson this past week. From last Monday evening until today, there has been no shortage of events to write about, but when I asked God to light the path he wanted me to follow, his answer was a bit of a surprise. As I understood his directive, it was this: “Two weeks ago I gave you and action plan. This week, I want you to call that plan into action.” As I pondered that directive, its perfection became obvious: we are called to be God’s light in this dark world. Galatians 6:9 puts it this way; “Let us never tire of doing good…” This IS our opportunity! (Refer to November 17: http://meetpastordan.com/ferguson-our-opportunity/) […]