Conflict on the Farm


Many of you have walked the National Battlefields across the U.S. where Northern troups met Southern troups and often times brother met brother. Some tallies indicate that more American lives were lost in the Civil War than all other wars Americans have fought in combined.

The words of Jesus still ring so true: "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand." (Matthew 12:25)

Our Pledge of Allegiance reminds us that we are One Nation Under God and indivisible! But honestly, it still feels like we are divided on so many political, racial, social, regional, cultural and spiritual issues. The daily news is so discouraging as headlines seem to actually promote as much as they do report on divisive actions and hate-filled rhetoric.

There is a solution and it's as complex as it is simple. Jesus said, "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." (John 15:12)

Love is easy when someone else loves you in return. It is easier to reciprocate when people look like you, sound like you, think like you, and live like you. But that is not reality. Christ-like love has no limits, boundaries or conditions. It is perfect and sacrificial.

Loving others sounds simple but can be more difficult than you imagine. Love, however, is not a feeling but a choice. It's our choice to live it out whether we feel like it or not. Imagine if love was the motivating factor behind everything we did, thought or said? We would experience heaven on earth... and there would be no more conflict on the farm.

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