October 2020  

Dear Friends,  

Grace and Peace to you in the name of our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  

Whose idea was it to have a pandemic during an election year? I know that people are always nasty to each other in an election year, but this year feels like there is a whole new level of vitriol in the air. People have been stuck in their homes, people have been frightened by national news, and people are spending all day on social media snarkily dressing down their political opponents.  

Siblings in Christ, I encourage you to stand up for what you believe in. I encourage you to be passionate about the things that matter. But, most importantly, I plead with you to love one another as Christ has loved us. Please don’t stoop so low as to stop loving your neighbor because they vote differently than you.  

G.K. Chesterton once wrote, “The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people.”  

Our neighbors are Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Independents, etc. And though you may disagree with them, you are still called to love them. We must not fall into the trap of dehumanizing and devaluing those who think differently than us to the point of fooling ourselves into thinking that we are no longer required to love them. Because love is the only thing that can overcome hate. And, without love, we are truly lost.  

I don’t care who you vote for next month, I care about how you treat people who vote differently than you. What other people say and do is on them, what you say and do is on you.  

Soli Deo Gloria, Pastor Robert