Closing the Divide

in Thoughts  by Jinha Kim 0 comments

My favourite moment in the U.S. Presidential Inauguration was when Amanda Gorman, aged 22, recited a powerful poem about unity (full video here):

We close the divide, because we know to put our future first,

We must first put our differences aside.

We lay down our arms

So we can reach out our arms to one another…

Scripture tells us to envision

That everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree,

And no one shall make them afraid.

If we’re to live up to our own time,

then victory won’t lie in the blade but in all the bridges we’ve made.

What a courageous call to come together.

When the disciples asked Jesus, “What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3), Jesus spoke about increasing wars, natural disasters, false prophets, etc. as warning signs that the Earth was groaning under the unbearable weight of selfish  human choices.  He also warned,

“Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:12 NIV). 

We’ve seen what hatred and prejudice can do.  We’ve witnessed the consequences of love gone cold.  Now we have the invitation, the challenge, to be the ones who stand firm to the end – to be the ones who love anyway.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3:12-14)

If ever there was a time to accept this mission, it is now.  As we forgive one another, as we love those who are different or difficult, we proclaim that God is love.  It is a message that we desperately need to embrace, embody and express every day of this new year.

Who do you need to forgive today or to whom do you need to ask for forgiveness?  Who is an outsider you can include or contact?  Let’s pray for God’s forgiveness, guidance, and power today.

by: Jinha Kim

"But those who drink the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:14