2020 has become known as the year people hate. I’ve heard so many say they are just done with it and if I’m honest, I’ve said the same. This year has also become a year of division. So many choosing sides over one thing or another. It has brought with it much fear, anxiety, anger, and even hate. It’s so easy to get caught up in the emotions and the rhetoric that surrounds this year.

But for the last few months, I have been asking God what it is that he is trying to tell or show me. Knowing that nothing comes to me that isn’t first sifted through the Father’s hands makes me understand that he knew everything that was ahead. The question is, how have I responded to it? Have I been salt and light to this world or have I been a reason for others to turn away? Have I shown Jesus or I have just shown my flesh? A few scriptures the Lord has given me lately are:

Galatians 5:13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

Proverbs 18:1 An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all sound judgment starts quarrels.

Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

And the one that really gets me:

John 13:15  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

Have I followed the example Christ gave me? Have I served with humility? Have I been a witness by sharing the good news of Jesus or has my flesh been louder to the world than the love of God? The Lord has been telling me that they are watching, they are seeking. The field is ripe for the harvest, but am I destroying the crop by being rotten fruit?

I love a line in the song from Casting Crowns, “Jesus, Friend of Sinners.” It says, “they don’t know what we’re for, only what we’re against when we judge the wounded. Let’s put down our signs, cross over the lines and love like you did.”

To sum it all up, I pray as 2020 comes to a close and for the rest of my days, that people see Jesus when they look at me. I pray I show love and that I always point others to Christ. May the World know we are Christians by our love.