This Sunday morning I showed up a minute late to Church with a venti vanilla latte in hopes that I wouldn't fall asleep. I had been assigned to fill in for the slides at the 10:30 am service. As the service went on, our Pastor, Dave, started his sermon. Our church is currently in a sermon series called "10 Things You Wish Jesus Never Said to You," and it just so happened that this sermon was surprisingly relatable to events happening in the USA and around the world.

Pastor Dave read us Matthew 5:10-12:

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

These verses struck me because I realized that I need to be more joyful because I know of my reward. There are many people being persecuted and it can be disheartening to see them in their situation but I know God will be with them. Pastor Dave went to go on to talk about "The Blame Game." We like to point fingers at people and put the fault on others. This causes us to be divisive and spread hate. Some examples include: political parties and the difference of beliefs, the ongoing national tension between the police and African American community, and different religious beliefs.

Jesus does not want us to persecute each other or blame each other. He wants us to approach each situation with a sense of compassion, humility, honesty, and love. If we were to throw away our differences and come to see each other as fellow human beings, as brothers and sisters in Christ, it would be a lot easier to solve some of these issues. I used to get so angry about some things that I became divisive and it kept me from getting to know someone on a deeper level.

After reading Blue Like Jazz, by Don Miller, I learned that we need to stop looking at what is bad in people and look for the good, and you will learn to love that person for who they are. I might not agree with every single person about everything or anything, but that should stop me from getting to know and loving them. This requires one to stop looking at someone and defining them by their beliefs but by who they are. My hope and prayer is that you all can be people that go out and be beacons of light. Spread love, bring people together, and stand up for what is right.