Love of Neighbor

In 1988, I was a brand new sixth grader. I remember my middle school feeling huge when we went to look at it, and I wondered how I'd ever get to my locker and then to my classes on time. I haven't thought about middle school in a long time, but recently I woke up with it on my mind.

Flashes of the campus came rushing back to me. It is a historic building in a city nearby, and though it is no longer used as a school, it has been preserved and still stands as the beautiful brick structure I remember from my time there. I could recall the hallways, the teachers, the library, the gym, the band room, and the prefab buildings out back where some of my classes were held.

The particular thing I woke up thinking about was my one teacher who asked us to research the candidates running for president in 1988.

In that class, I remember being introduced to the donkey and elephant logos, which represent the two political parties. I also remember how nearly everyone in the class was supporting Bush, and how those supporting Dukakis were sort of looked down upon.

As a sixth grader, I had heard some conversations about politics, but I didn't know much. I was looking forward to registering to vote when I was old enough, and I had some implicit belief, whether absorbed from church or just living in middle America, that as a Christian, the right thing to do was register as a Republican.

Early on, I voted a straight Republican ticket, thinking that this was my Christian duty. But as I got older, I started asking different questions. Started wrestling with the character of the names on the ticket. Started wondering if the implicit views I had were skewed. Started to understand that following Jesus wasn't connected to a political party at all. I began to see politics through a more nuanced lens, and for that, I am deeply thankful.

These days, I am most concerned about how to love my neighbor well, which often means considering the marginalized and oppressed and how they will be affected by the decisions made by those in power.

I am deeply grieved by what is happening around the country. I cannot believe the way people are being treated. It is dehumanizing and vile. It makes me angry. I think about how I would feel if my family or I were ripped away from our home. It feels impossible to process the grief and trauma being inflicted on both citizens and non citizens alike. The ramifications of these actions will be with us for decades to come.

Sharon McMahon recently wrote, "You cannot break the law to enforce the law. It's really that simple."

We are living in a time when lawlessness feels rampant, and I find myself wondering how to be a peacemaker in these times. I want to stand up and shout for justice, yet at the same time retreat to safety. Some days I want to hide my head in the sand, wishing for better days, and other days I wonder if better days will ever return.

The only thing I can hold onto is Hope.

Jesus is our true hope. When he arrived on the scene all those years ago, the government was a mess, but he came and showed us what the Kingdom of God looks like here and now - not just in the future one day. It is an upside down kingdom, where the first is last, and the last is first. It is the kind of place that welcomes strangers and foreigners, cares for the oppressed, loves orphans and widows, and ensures that every mouth is fed. Every single person is seen, known, and loved.

God created all people in God's image. God loves every single human on this planet. The most vile human, causing the greatest harm, and the least of these marginalized and forgotten - one is not more loved than the other. This is such a hard truth to sit with. In my humanity, I find it so hard to love those causing harm, and yet every day it is essential for me to see the image of God in every person. It is what helps me not choose hate.

That brand new sixth grader was pretty naive, thinking the landscape of politics would be quite easy to navigate. She really had no idea what was on the horizon. All these decades later, the main thing I know is that loving my neighbor matters every time. 

~  Melissa