Living in Light, Loving Like God

I have been struggling–scrolling through social media, having conversations with co-workers, family, and friends. Deep within me, I feel the need to say something—to make my voice heard—but I just can’t seem to muster up the words to say or write. My heart aches for lives lost, for violence, threats of violence, for families and friendships torn apart, for the deep and cutting division in our country, and even deeper pain we carry in different ways but very publicly share through the words we say or type in response to what others have said. I really just don’t know what to say anymore.

As a church, we’re studying 1 John—a letter written to Christian communities facing divisions and false teachings, and I can’t help but feel the weight of the same two things in our world today.

Social media has made it incredibly easy for us to broadcast our positions and opinions on everything from political issues to recipes. Things we would never say to someone face to face, we somehow feel empowered to write in a post or comment. I’m not sure if we do it to let people know where we stand or if we’re trying to get people on “our side”—but whatever the reason, it creates more division than connection. I’m not saying we shouldn’t have opinions. We absolutely should, and it’s our right to voice them. But I think the way we voice them matters deeply to God.

I can’t help but think that if we paused before hitting send or post and asked ourselves—Is this the best way for me to express myself that reflects the love and light of Jesus? Am I responding to someone out of love or fear (which we mask as anger and frustration)? Social media allows us an anonymity and a false sense of bravery. It creates a sort of darkness that allows us to remain invisible but still have the power to hurt. In that darkness, we lose sight of love. We forget that even if we are divided and even if we feel like that division creates enemies, we’re called to love… even those with whom we disagree and consider our enemies. Because if God is love, and we are made in his image, then love isn’t optional for us—it’s central to who we’re meant to be.

I desire a better world, and I pray for a better world. One where leaders don’t incite fear and frustration. One where we pause to say something (or type something) out of love. One where we no longer allow the darkness to diminish the need for light and love.

I don’t have answers. I don’t really feel like I even have the right words. But my prayer this morning was for a miracle of sorts—I prayed for God to heal the deep division in our country and world. I prayed for God to work in my life in a way that helps me pause and view people with the same eyes that he does. The same eyes that look upon me and love me, look upon those I disagree with and love them just the same. I prayed for a miracle to heal hurt caused by violence and division, and even as I prayed, I felt doubt creep in. I found myself thinking about how God gives us the freedom to choose—he doesn’t force us to love, he doesn’t make us do what’s right. God won’t magically make people who choose to hate suddenly stop hating. So, in the end, I prayed for God to help me in my unbelief and to guide me in how I respond. I can’t control what other people say and do. I can’t make them agree with me. But I can choose how I respond—in what I say, in what I do, and in how I live my life as a reflection of him.

Maybe you’re wrestling with how to love when division feels so deep, how to choose grace when fear seems easier. May you find courage to pause before you speak, to see others through God’s eyes of love rather than through the lens of our differences. When the weight of hatred and division feels overwhelming, may we remember together that God is love—not just loving, but love itself. In our daily choices to respond with kindness instead of anger, to listen instead of argue, to see the image of God in those who frustrate us most, we participate in God’s very nature. And when we fail—because we all do—may we find grace to begin again, drawing strength from the one whose love never fails. The work of love in a broken world isn’t easy, but it’s the truest reflection of who God is and who we’re called to be.