The vital center of Jesus' mission

In youth group with our students, I recently shared the origin story of how I met my best friend during my senior year of high school. She was not one of the cool kids. she read a lot, was labeled a nerd, and was made fun of. When I was sat next to her in my first-hour sociology class, I ran the risk of tarnishing my image if I talked to her. I had already made assumptions about her and how we would never get along. But I was taught to be friendly, so I had a dilemma: do I choose kindness, or do I choose popularity and eliminate being ostracized as well? Before I could even decide, she turned around and started talking to me. She was authentic and funny. She genuinely wanted to know about me and my interests. Her choice to build a bridge changed my life for the better, and she has been a pivotal part of my life ever since.

Not all stories end up this way. Sometimes, the act of “agape”–tough, persistent love–means choosing kindness that builds bridges of trust between family members who otherwise argue and disagree. Or perhaps choosing empathy and love that asks nothing in return shifts our perspective about a neighbor or co-worker we presumed we’d never get along with. Maybe it doesn’t end in friendship, but it does change us both for the better.

Our words and actions, both good and bad, will create a domino effect. I asked our students, “What kind of domino will you start?” Our current climate of disagreements and polarizing political platforms can feel tricky. Decisions are being made that will impact lives for years to come, and it can be very easy to slip into an “us/them” mentality. But we all lose when empathy is lost and replaced with judgment and comparison.

This agape love is challenging because it requires humility to recognize that people are more than the sum of their beliefs, opinions, or behaviors. At its core, this love isn’t conditional upon shared views or uniformity. It is about choosing to see the humanity in someone, even when their perspectives clash with yours. This approach pushes us beyond the comfort of surrounding ourselves only with those who echo our beliefs. It forces us to listen, to seek to understand rather than immediately persuade or judge. It doesn’t mean abandoning our convictions; instead, it’s about holding space for others to have theirs. This act of love acknowledges that every person has a unique journey shaped by different experiences, values, and insights.

Loving someone despite our disagreements fosters a sense of shared humanity that transcends the divisions between “us” and “them.” This doesn’t just deepen our capacity for empathy but also can soften the ground for honest conversations to take place. In a world increasingly polarized, learning to love without agreement might be the most radical, transformative act we can offer. This is why Jesus was so adamant about loving one another and doing unto others as we would have them do to us. God’s love is so radical that it restores humanity. So, I ask you, what kind of domino will you start?