A pastor. A mayor. A principal. A community activist. All praying and believing God for unity and healing in our city and our nation.

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity -Psalm 133:1

This first picture was taken last fall during our series FOR THIS CITY. We talked for a month about the questions “Who is our neighbor?”, “How can we love our city?” and “How can we love people who don’t look like, act like or believe like us?”. We had candid discussion with police officers, teachers, mental health workers and other community leaders. It felt like a win for our church. And for our city. And I think it was. But our nation and our city have a long way to go.

On Mother’s Day this year Becky and I “hijacked” the Mother’s Day message to talk about the Ahmaud Arbery shooting. We again talked about how to love our neighbor. We talked about racial tension. We talked about injustice. If you’d like to watch it you can check that out here.

The second picture is of George Floyd and the text is of one of the last things he said before he died. I have seriously struggled with finding the “right” words to communicate my thoughts and feelings. I take the influence that we have been given extremely seriously. But I am hurting this week. Grieving. Frustrated and angry. I am grieved at the injustice. I am grieved at the comments I read at people trying to “justify” what happened. I am grieved to see Minneapolis in flames. This isn’t just a political issue or a media issue. This is a Kingdom of God issue.

We need to pray. But our prayers must lead to action. I am convinced we have to keep having the hard conversations. Keep examining our own hearts. Keep repenting of callousness and indifference. We must keep listening to others. And keep wrestling with these issues. We need to keep confronting our fear with love.

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. -1st John 4:18 NIV

I believe the love of God is the answer. The sacrificial, illogical love of God. His love isn’t logical. It is radical. It is revolutionary. It is absolutely the answer.

 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” -Luke 23:33-34 ESV

Jesus didn’t just pray. He prayed while he was sacrificing himself for humanity. He prayed while we was acting. His love led to sacrifice. What are we sacrificing to help others? Are we willing to sacrifice our egos? Our opinions? Our reputations?

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13 NIV

There is a tension in this topic but God isn’t afraid of the tension. I think He is going to use this tension. To make our nation better. To make us stronger. But for now we need to grieve. We need to grieve for George Floyd. We need to grieve for Cody Holte, the Grand Forks police officer who was killed this week in the line of duty. We need to grieve for the destruction and violence in Minneapolis. And we need to listen and learn. And we need to love like Jesus. The world is full of opinions. I don’t see those opinions changing the world. The world needs to see sacrificial love that expels fear.

We love you George Floyd. We love you police officers putting yourselves at risk to protect and serve. We love you protesters feeling hurt and angry. We love you business owners whose property has been destroyed. We can do better. We must do better. We will do better.