Rising Tides Raise All Ships
There’s something that 2016 has revealed to me. Our world is broken. There are many things I could focus on, but the church is the route that I’m going to take. This post is not meant to guilt trip or make anybody feel bad about anything. I am just simply sharing my opinion and what some people my age are saying about church. So if you want to stop reading, that’s totally okay! I won’t be offended.
When I was doing an internship over the summer, I was talking with my advisor about PR stuff that would help the museum I was at. He told me that we should also advertise other museums in the area. He said, “Rising tides raise all ships.” And it really stuck with me. After many weeks of seeing the news, seeing things on social media, and mulling it over, I thought of something. Why can’t we do that? Why can’t churches raise up other churches? Don’t we all, as Christians, have the same mission and the same end goal? Why are so many churches selfish and why are some Christians not really accepting of others?
I’ve had these questions running around in my head for weeks and, well, I can’t think of any reasons why we shouldn’t lift each other up. Mark 12:30-31 says this, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all of your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” I don’t see in the bible where it says, “Love God and love others, unless they attend a different church than you do.” It doesn’t even say, “Love God and love others, unless they are a different religion than yours” or “Love God and love others, unless they believe different things than you do” or “Love God and love others, unless you think your thoughts and ideas are superior to theirs.” Point blank, the bible says love God and love others. Period. That’s it. So why are we so against propping other churches up and supporting them? Why are we looking down on people of other religions? That’s not love.
Here’s a thought that this college student has. Why don’t we just love? Love everyone no matter the church they go to, their age, their religion, their beliefs in general. Stop shoving the gospel down people’s throats and just talk to them, listen to them, answer their questions, pray for them, and let them take it at their own pace. Let’s love with all of our hearts because God loves us so much that he sent his only son to die for our sins and it’s the least we can do to love all of God’s creation. So let’s stop belittling people we don’t agree with, support other churches and others that might want to try them out, and stop hating people who are not like us.
So here’s to 2017. Let it be full of love and acceptance. Let us move on from hate and everything that is tearing our world apart. Let’s make 2017 better than 2016. Let’s let the rising tides raise all ships.
- Shattered Glass - August 25, 2017
- Rising Tides Raise All Ships - January 19, 2017
- Daughter of a King - December 14, 2016
……Yep folks, this is my daughter and Yes I am a proud father!……stating what I have thought for years.
Keep on going my sweet…..you are on the right road and your daddy loves you even if you are getting older and graduating college……somethings will NEVER change!
Well, you already know how I feel about all this. 🙂 I just read this morning “Love must be sincere” (Romans 12:9). There’s more to the verse, but that first sentence hit me in the face like a slap. *sigh* Not only do we have to love others, we have to actually mean it! So much easier said than done sometimes.
Well said, Katie. That’s the verse I keep coming back to, as well…also the one where it says we’ll be known by our love for each other. John 13:34-35. I lead a young adult ministry in my church, and I love keeping in touch with them because they tend to be real and very honest. Last night we were talking about how to be citizens of heaven on earth, and the themes they came up with were: compassion, empathy, and unity —> Love.
Let me join in the chorus of “amens”! I’ve been talking about this for years. In Jesus’ words, “If they are not against us, then they are for us.” Your generation will likely do a better job with this than my generation has done!
well said, young friend, well said!
I’m with you, Katie. That is the very verse I posted on my Facebook yesterday. It’s the “law” Jesus prized above all others so we best be getting to it!