I had a very scary night last night. Around 1:30 in the morning I was woke up by someone in our neighborhood yelling obscenities and racial slurs at another neighbor who happens to be Indian. We have a great deal of people from India living in our neighborhood. I was scared and appalled at what was happening outside my window. I did not feel safe and when the police drove by and the ordeal was over I had a very difficult time going back to sleep and had a number of nightmares.
While it was happening I prayed earnestly for protection over everyone in the neighborhood and for peace to come over the individual yelling. I prayed that no harm come to anyone and was so thankful when the yelling stopped. This morning I am a mix of emotions. I am still anxious about the whole event. I’m angry that I live in a world with such intolerance. We have a fairly peaceful neighborhood in a small town that is a suburb of Indianapolis. I’ve lived here 15 years and never had the issues we have had this past year. I have two neighbors who have reported guns firing and bullets going thru their windows. I’ve heard of mail theft and people breaking into cars, stuff that never used to happen here and after last night I am at a loss. Its not just my neighborhood that crime is increasing its all over. Intolerance is running rampart across our country.
My heart breaks for the person who was being abused last night. I pray today they are okay and that they will live in a safe place again. My heart breaks for the abuser, that he harbors so much anger and hate, it makes me sick to my stomach to think about it. I guess this is my call to whoever is reading to love each other and show love to others. No one deserves to be talked to or treated in that way. We need to love our neighbors no matter what. This world is getting to be so dark and we as Christians need to show light and love to one another. There is no room for intolerance in the faith of Christianity.
On April 28 of this year in Poway California John Earnest opened fire in a synagogue killing one woman and injuring three others. Before this event he wrote a seven page letter spelling out his core beliefs that Jewish people were guilty in his view of faults ranging from killing Jesus to controlling the media and that they deserved to die. As Christians we should be appalled by this anti-semiotic replacement theology that he believed and the actions he took.
We need to love our neighbors. And to negate his thoughts on the Jewish people, Jewish people didn’t murder Jesus, Jews and gentiles murdered Jesus and it didin’t matter because Jesus forgave them, Luke 23:34. Jesus was Jewish and he came to Jewish people to teach them. Many of the first Christians were Jewish including all 12 disciples. Many of the parables and stories taught in the Gospels were biased on Jewish laws, traditions, culture and beliefs as well as the Torah and old testament books. If we took those into account when studying the word we would get a lot more out of the Gospels then we already do.
But regardless we are Christians are again called to love others and that includes our neighbors, our enemies, those who are foreign to us and those we don’t agree with. So today I ask you do something nice for one of your neighbors, show them some love. Lets fight intolerance the only way that works. With love.
2BecomeBrave 