Somewhere over the rainbow.....

On one occasion, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"

He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live" (Luke 10:25-28).

It is election time again and the lines are being drawn in the sand. What I am trying to figure out is....why the division?  People are being given labels, as if that will make our country strong or weak. Sure, politicians want the vote, but once you have voted, then suddenly, you have no voice, because now you have been branded. You're either rich or poor, colored or not, European descent or Hispanic, gay or straight...and I thought to myself, "are we not all children of God? Who am I to look down at another because of race, income religious belief, orientation or gender? We are all one...we are all God's creation and image!" So I thought about it some more...and came up with this:

....there is only one thing that matters in this whole world: love your neighbor. If that person is black, red, white, yellow or all of the above, love your neighbor. If that person is gay, straight or all of the above, love your neighbor. If that person is rich poor or somewhere in the middle, love your neighbor. If that person is an addict, alcoholic, male or female, love your neighbor. If that person is Catholic, Baptist, atheist, deist, agnostic, love your neighbor. If you do that, you have just solved ALL of the problems in the world!

Is this too Pollyanna...too "rose-colored glasses? Well then, let's let the Teacher say it as it is:

[To those who showed compassion] "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"

[To those who showed no compassion] "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life" (Matthew 25:34-46). A ruler questioned Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.

"You know the commandments, 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother.'"

And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."

When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me" (Luke 18:18-22). 

 This last one always gets to me, because at one time or another, I have felt ill will in my heart towards another who has done me wrong. I am working on it, but it can take awhile to hammer this point home:  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God (Matthew 5:9).

and last: But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons and daughters of your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:44-45).