Looking back over hundreds of years of history, we see wars, turmoil and horrible events of murder, genocide, and abuse of humans in ways that no one should endure. We see massive destruction of property leaving people homeless, and without a way to provide for themselves and their families. Sometimes we see such catastrophes from the forces of nature, but when it occurs at the brutal hands of people against people, it is heartbreaking. Such events take away the hope we all so desperately need to survive in an already difficult world.
We may wonder where God is in the midst of all the horror that we see. When we seek to find God in the least of places and in the turmoil, we will always find him. God lives in all of us and loves all his people equally. He will never abandon us, including those who do not recognize nor accept his love. Not only does God live in the hearts of each person, but his love fills the crevices of the earth, and knows no bounds. When we call to him, we will discover he has never left us.
No evil can separate God’s people from him. God will take good from all evil and so too, will he be a source of good amid the evil. Good or bad, we are all God’s people and we were each created with love. As God’s people, we are all unique. We grew up in different circumstances, we have different beliefs, and we often feel no love for others or from others who are different from ourselves.
Driving through a small town, I once saw this sign outside of a church: “Don’t judge someone else just because they sin differently from you.” We all sin and we all have our faults. Only God can judge a soul, for not any of us truly knows what is in another’s heart. However, because we are the Body of Christ, we all suffer from the sin that flows from one person to another. Although evil may bring sorrow and grief to our hearts, love is stronger and will overcome all things that are not of God. It is only through love, compassion, and forgiveness can we find peace and hope. God’s love goes on forever, and all that is done in love lives on forever.
Many years ago, I discovered Focolare, an ecumenical international organization that promotes the ideals of unity and universal brotherhood. It was founded in Italy by Chiara Lubich in 1943. This movement is comprised of people of all different faiths and even those who have “no faith.” It teaches that we all have God’s love within us and invites us to live out that love in our daily lives. Although we may not believe the same way, it encourages us all to be one in Christ according to Jesus’s words in John’s Gospel, “so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you” (John 17:21). Focolare teaches each individual’s experience of God remains unique, but we can all be examples of God’s love, and to be the first to love in every situation.
God is love and love is the key to all the despair, anger, and unrest that we see each day before us. We must pray for each other and strive to bring hurting souls to God by showing them love and giving them hope. During the height of the pandemic, we saw love in action through kindness, generosity, sharing and caring. Perhaps as God’s candles, we can continue to be a positive light in our troubled world through our acts of love for each other. Only through God’s love can our world heal one soul at a time.
Copyright © 2024 Marsha Luke – Rights for non-commercial reproduction granted: May be copied in its entirety, but neither retyped nor edited.