You’ve seen it on the news, you’ve seen it all over Facebook and you’ve heard it being talked about by every other person you walk past. The mass shooting that happened in Orlando on June 12 is one that will go in the history books. With 50 dead and 53 more injured, it has been labeled the worst mass shooting America has ever faced. Not only that but it has sparked a huge issue on political correctness as well as religion.
As Christians we all have our opinions on the issue set. Some choose to put their opinions all over Facebook and others have kept silent. But the one question at hand for us right now is “What do we do now?” The answer is simple: we love. Christians have recently gained a bad reputation through the media and what people see on the news. We are often portrayed as homophobic bible beaters who go to protests and hold up signs that say “God hates gays” and “Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." To put it plainly for those who do not know, that does not reflect the life that Jesus wants us to be living. This past week our LGBT+ neighbors have been attacked, targeted and frightened for their lives and we need to show them love.
Love thy neighbor as you love yourself. The LGBT+ community is our neighbor, therefore, we love them. You don’t have to agree with someone’s lifestyle to love them. Do you think God agrees with every decision we make? Absolutely not, but He loves us anyway and He loves us unconditionally. That is the kind of attitude and behavior we need to reflect upon our society; unconditional love and support. This applies to us every single day that we are on this Earth, not only after tragedy strikes. To those who don’t know Christ, they look to us to see who He is and what God is all about. Shouldn’t we want to reflect who God is as accurately as possible? Love people and love them unconditionally and love them until they ask why. There’s no need to push religion on them, there’s no need to judge their lifestyle; just love them and be kind to them and support their community.
This applies to our Muslim neighbors as well. So much of the Muslim community woke up on Sunday morning horrified. They are scared of what the world will think of them after this, they are scared that they will be judged based on the horrific terrorist acts of a group of people and they are scared of how their lives will change after this. We must show them God’s love because at the end of it all they are people who need Jesus just like we do.
Along with the rants and the news articles all over social media, it’s not hard to miss the hashtag #PrayForOrlando. This is so important. This is more than just a tag that we have gotten trending. This is more than just bringing awareness to what has happened. This is real life. This may come as a shock to some people, but tagging #PrayForOrlando on Twitter is not going to do anything if you don’t actually pray for Orlando. This is a big part of what Christians need to do —
practice what you tweet. Actually, pray for Orlando. Pray for the victims and their families. Pray for those who are fearing for their lives right now. Pray for those who live there, the whose beautiful home city has been wrongfully attacked. Pray for those who attacked it and pray for those who support(ed) the attacks. Pray for everyone who has been affected. Literally pray because God isn’t checking Twitter every 30 minutes scrolling through the #PrayForOrlando tag. Pray on behalf of those who don’t know God and don’t know who to pray to. Present your requests to Him and He will deliver — live by that truth.After this tragic attack and much more that have happened recently, it is very easy to live in fear. It isn’t hard to go to crowded places such as an airport or a mall or a concert and feel anxious that something may happen. Considering recent stories on the news, that fear may even be considered completely normal to feel. However, fear is from Satan. Satan instills that anxiety in us to try and pull us away from God. So in our feelings of fear and anxiety, we must turn to God and believe that He will protect us and He has got it all under control. Cast all your anxieties on Him and He will put you at ease; I have experienced that first hand. We cannot let tragedy put a dent in our faith and we can’t let it diminish our trust in God.
To close this up, the most helpful thing we can do is to spread love to the world. Whether it is the LGBT+ community, our Muslim neighbors, those who are believers or those who aren’t, it is God’s will for us to love them as He loves us. The world is filled with so much hate and cruelty and there is absolutely no more room for that, so we need to start spreading the love. The only way we can fight the darkness of the world is by continuing to shower it with light. Showering it with God's love.
And one last reminder, every person in that nightclub that was attacked or affected was/is someone that God created and placed on this earth to fulfill a purpose. We are all in God’s family and it’s our job to love everyone else in that family, despite our different views and opinions. Love your neighbors, truly and wholeheartedly love them.
