In light of recent events, I think it is vitally important that we as Christians take a stand for love. The world is filled with so much hate and violence. We see things on our social media timelines daily about killings, murders, and rapes. It’s become second nature to become complacent with these events, just because it’s “normal”. We tell ourselves this is just how the world is, even though we’re terrified to speak up. As followers of Christ, the one who loves us the most, it is our turn to spread love. We must love.

On June 11th, 2016 the largest mass shooting in American history occurred at a LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, Florida. 50 people were killed, and even more were injured. I’ve seen a lot of different things floating around on social media, things that hurt my heart. I feel like some of these things aren’t Christ like at all. I’ve seen people proclaiming, “Well, they deserved it for their sin” and more. It hurts my heart, because all humans have been made in God’s image -- no matter sexual orientation, race, or religion. We are all made in God’s image. We must love.

I think of a particular bible verse that reflects my emotions at this time. It is the shortest verse in the entirety of the Christian Bible. Simply, it is, “Jesus wept.” This verse is located in the gospel of John 11:35. This is how I feel right now when I look at the world. We must love.

Many Christians have differing beliefs on people around the world. There are some who feel moved to exile those who we think have committed the most heinous of sins, when in reality we are all sinners. In Mark 2, verse 17 Jesus speaks, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” How can we expect to bring people to Christ when we are so filled without love? We must band together and proclaim love to those who do not believe the same as we do. People will not hear our shouts of the gospel if these shouts are filled with disdain. Love is the language of the world, and we must use it as Christ did. We must love.

We cannot stand by and watch hate. We cannot continually turn our heads away from violence and crime. We must not push people away for their sins; loving someone does not equate to agreeing with what they’re doing or becoming tolerant of it, but we must admit they are more likely to listen if we show them love. We must love.

If we only allow ourselves to be around people with similar views, how can we reach the world and spread the gospel in the modern world? The gospel of Christ’s love must be spread. We must love.

We must love. We must bring people to Christ through love. We must love.