It hurts me deeply to think about how far we have fallen from the principals our country was founded upon. One of these principals, known as: the total supremacy of God’s Word, has been among those that have fallen by the wayside. I cannot comprehend the deep sorrow that fills God’s heart when He sees how disrespectfully so many of us treat His precious, Self-breathed Word.
I shall narrow down my topic of this address; since the opinion of the entire nation on this matter cannot be swayed by my simply touching briefly on the subject. Indeed, it will take many a person after me, even to the point of Christ’s imminent return, to change peoples’ hearts. The pointed subject I wish to speak to you about this evening is this: that God wants us to love one another. Many of you will now switch off your mental hearing-aids, but those few who are still tuned-in to my words, hear me out.
Today, in our culture, we stress tolerance. “Peace! No more wars!” cry the people of this once great nation. I, too, wish for peace. I long to see wars come to an end, to see no one hurting. Unfortunately, this peace cannot come. For our American culture is fighting the wrong battle. Indeed, a noble wish it is to want to bring home troops, but it will not stop wars. It will not bring peace and love to all the world. Crime will still sweep our streets, prejudice and pride will still rage through our hearts, and ultimately, sin will still rule the world. And what happens when we let tolerance go to far? It will destroy us.
Now you may be asking, isn’t tolerance the same thing as love? No. Love is not tolerance, and tolerance is not love. Long-suffering love often appears to look like tolerance, but I digress. Tolerance says, “I will act civil toward you because it will give me peace of mind and soul.” Love says, “I will do everything in my power to be kind and generous to you, to protect you, and to always be there for you.”
My solution for you is this, don’t try to bring about peace in the world with tolerance and, to be honest, apathy. Instead, pray to God to receive love, and in turn, give love. Fight for what’s right. I’m not saying it’s OK to go out and fight wars by the justification of saying, “In the name of Love.” No, certainly not. That is just as bad as other religions and their “holy” wars. I want you to fight the internal battles such as: selfishness, pride, condemnation, so that you can love people without the hindrance of your personal sins. Once you have conquered those inside battles, then fight the external ones. Fight for truth. Fight for life. Fight for all things good. Fight for the love of something or Someone.
May God help us all in learning how to fight these battles.
-Becky Fowler, 2011
