We Will Rise

When I started thinking about what I was going to write about this week, the words, “I will rise” came to mind. As I thought about it over the week I didn’t have a message, just the words, “I will rise!” And then Charlie Kirk was assassinated.

I am one who disagrees vehemently with what that man espoused. He is living proof of the concept of “violence begets violence”. He preached hate. He preached bigotry and misogyny. He preached support of gun violence. But he was a human being. He was a child of God. Did he “deserve” what happened to him. That’s between him and God but violence has no place in a just society.

A close friend has been struggling spiritually. A devout Evangelical she walked out of a prayer service that was devoted to Charlie Kirk. She’s questioning what she’s been taught, trying to reconcile a loving God with the hatred that runs rampant through evangelicalism in the south. She loves the vibrant worship of the church and the people that she calls her friends. The disparity is getting to her. My heart goes out to her. It’s easy for me to tell her to leave, to find a church home with more accepting values, but I understand the lure. I was an evangelical too for many years. I got burned, left and found a new home in the church I grew up in: United Methodist. She'll have to find her way, too.

I’ve been upset with all the hate. I’ve been fearful of what the future of our country will be. My best friend is a trans woman. She’s wondering if she’ll go down fighting to be accepted or if she’ll be swept up in the intolerance. She fears laws may be passed that label her “mentally defective”. She worries her rights will be taken away. Should she go back to being a man? Give in and hope to be safe? Or stand firm and face. . . what?

So, while the message I received was, “I will rise”, I realized the truth of it is “We Will Rise!" I live with fear, but I trust a powerful God. I don’t believe the United States holds some special place in His heart. We may have to go through a much greater hell, but it won’t be forever. God’s love is more powerful than the world’s hate. It is not religion that I believe in. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, – all faiths that profess the “one true God” – all have radical factions that have lost the true love of a just God. I believe in a God who loves ALL OF US! And His children are here – marching, serving, loving. We keep sharing the love to combat the darkness of hate. WE WILL RISE!

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