“I appeal to you, brothers and
sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one
another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you
be perfectly united in mind and thought.” 1
Corinthians 1:10
This is most definitely an election year in the
United States. I know I’ve already eaten my fill of not so tasty political
speeches. I have witnessed: division
along party lines; division in race; division in every demographic possible.
Paul told the Corinthians to agree with one another so there would be no
divisions.
If you’re married, you know that loving people do
not agree all of the time. If they do, one of them is not thinking. Disagreement,
however, is not mean or angry; it’s not loud or rude; it does not slander or
defame. Actually, disagreement is a wonderful sharing of ideas and points of
view. Only the weak fear to hear another’s side.
In my Length of Days trilogy that takes place from
2112-2114, when political correctness has controlled the country, four distinct
zones divide the nation, with no travel or contact between them.
Will our divisiveness today cut our nation in half, or even in little
pieces? Or, can we be strong
enough and mature enough to realize that it is up
to us to bind our country together with your love. John Wesley addressed how to
unite, to mend and not divide, on October 6, 1774. He said:
“I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing
election, and advised them: 1. to vote, without fee or reward, for the person
they judged most worthy; 2. to speak no evil of the person they voted against; and,
3. to take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on
the other side.”
Can
we put on our prayer shawls and humbly submit our words and spirits to God who
will speak through us the loving and binding words that are needed right now? I
know we can. We don’t even have to want to. We just have to want to want to, and to be obedient to
the God of love. God will do the rest. Let us pray:
“Holy
Father, Love divine, shine your light of peace on all of us. Not peace as some
might see it, as weakness, but peace as strength through Jesus Christ, who was
so determined to be obedient to you, ‘…he steadfastly set his face to go to
Jerusalem…’ when you were ready to call him home. May your kingdom come today,
a kingdom of quietness and joy, so that we may take this election season and
place it in your hands. For this day, may I want to want to choose your path
where division is not the way to love. Forgive me when I have joined in the
gossip and slander that defames your civil servants. I am not perfect and I
must not demand perfection of them. I turn our blessed country over to you,
Father God and pray through your son Jesus Christ that your will may be done in
our beautiful and free land. Amen”
Doris
"God gives us stories that testify to His
love. Let me tell you mine.”
Copyright 2016 Doris Gaines Rapp
Length of Days trilogy, by Doris
Gaines Rapp: All three are available in paperback and eBook at Amazon.com and
Barnes and Noble.com, as well at Cokesbury.com
Length of Days – The Age of
Silence (© 2014)
Length of Days – Beyond the
Valley of the Keepers (© 2015)
Length of Days – Search for
Freedom (© 2016)
