May the God who give endurance and encouragement give you the sam attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. — Romans 15:5-6

The past few weeks have precipitated a lot of conversations surround the hashtags, #blacklivesmatter, #bluelivesmatter #alllivesmatter. 

And I am here to not make a stand on the subject, but to speak from what I believe to be a Christian perspective on the matter. 

When I started thinking about all of the different stories I have read or seen in the news, all of the posts I have seen on social media, and even the conversations I’ve had with friends and acquaintances, I realized how many different stances there were to take regarding this topic. 

Most of the time you can look at differing opinions as a spectrum you have one extreme on one side, and another extreme on the other. 

While I think there are extremes in the current stirrings of violence in our country, I have come to picture all of the different opinions and stances and arguments in the form of a sphere. 

All around the subject, there are different view points, that make up this sphere. The outside are the most extreme (perhaps even violent) arguments about the violence. Then the “inside” of sphere is made up of the many other arguments that are maybe less harsh and easier to swallow, and thrown in there randomly are those apathetic people who have chosen for whatever reason to not face the issue at hand. 

But at the center of the whole sphere, I see Christ. 

I see him loving each and every person regardless of their arguments. 

I see him weeping for the lost lives caused by the sin of our broken world. 

I see his heart breaking as his people (those who proclaim Christ as Savior) argue with one another. 

I see him moving – reaching out his arms to hold each person who is feeling hurt, confused, angry, sad, or defeated, waiting for them to fall into him. 

I see his righteous anger at the injustices that have ensued. 

I see his perfect justice coming. 

I see his mercy already here. 

My one prayer in all of the chaos would be that each person, wherever they might land in that sphere, draw closer and closer to Christ so that with ONE mind and ONE voice we may glorify our God and Father. 

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ — Acts 17:24-28

Photo Credit: http://www.therebelution.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/11/christ_the_center.jpg