LOVE Somebody

Bottom line, foundational, essence of our faith, God’s expectation of us. Love somebody. By this, you and everyone else, will know that you follow Jesus Christ. Without this, nobody knows who you follow. Yes, it is that simple.

Today’s Holy Experiment:

-Identify someone who claims a different political party from you. Tell him/her you are interested in learning how he/she views the presidential race. Then discipline yourself to listen with respect and honor. Ask questions which show you are interested in this person’s point of view. Discipline yourself to avoid criticizing, even by critiquing through subtle questions which are really accusations. The goal here is to school yourself in the art of being with someone with whom you disagree, while practicing love for this person. This trains you to be more loving, while contributing good will to the common good.   Here are some potential questions:

• What do you believe is the best thing about your political party?
• What is it you wish everyone really understood about your political viewpoint?
• Looking back, what do you think contributed to you identifying with this political party?
• What’s happened in your life along the way which has influenced you to identify with this political viewpoint?
• What do you hope is the outcome for this country if your candidate wins the election?
• What else would you want someone like me, who is a member of another political party, to understand or know about you and your political viewpoint

Express great appreciation for the other person to be willing to share, not knowing what kind of response he/she would get from you. If he/she asks, you might let him/her know you are trying to become a more loving person. You might share that your faith is pushing you to become more open to others with different viewpoints. You are starting by intentionally trying to learn from and understand the journey of others. Thank them for helping you expand your relational capacity.

May God help this human family as we ride this wild revolving planet earth.