There is a reason that God did not give us the spirit of fear (2 Tim 1:7).
Fear allows us to believe that someone is doing something or taking something from us. Fear allows us to believe that we are superior or inferior. Fear can cause us to make poor choices. Fear can keep us silent or make us behave like a clanging cymbal. Fear makes us want to build walls and create new territories. Fear destroys humanity and chases away love.
The God I love, and the Jesus I serve say that love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18-19). Fear robs us of love and light, and we are called to love.
Our God also says to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:39). All the people of the world are our neighbors.
The word of God also says to love our enemies. (Matthew 5:44). This is hard to do, but when we put on the Full Armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20) and when we have faith, we can do nothing less than love. The harder part is to pray for those who persecute us, but let’s do it anyway.
True love includes standing up for our neighbors and embracing those that are different than ourselves. It includes calling out injustice even when it may cost us something. Yet God will supply all our needs (Philippians 4:19); we just need to work together in UNITY.
God created us in God’s abundance to share and support all God’s children, whether they look like us or know Jesus like us. This world is so much bigger than our ego, pride, and economic status. We must resist the trick of the enemy, who tells us that this land, money, or church is “mine.”
Everything belongs to God, who sent Jesus to save the world and call the world to himself (John 3:16). So, when you begin to think that someone is taking something from you, think again, because it’s not yours in the first place.
I’m thankful for being saved. I will not live in fear. I will trust my Savior and Lord Jesus Christ and I will see His kingdom come. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Lord, help my unbelief (Mark 9:24) May we all say together, “Lord, have mercy on us all” (Psalms 31:9). Amen and amen.
In the words of the great Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.”
Happy Black History Month!
Jaye Lindo
Jaye Lindo is the Hospitality Coordinator for Mosaic Conference and serves as Pastor of 7 Ways Home Fellowship in Bowie, MD.
Mosaic values two-way communication and encourages our constituents to respond with feedback, questions, or encouragement. To contact Jaye Lindo, please email jlindo@mosaicmennonites.org.
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.