Before the death of my daughter, death was a very scary thing to me. Even though I was a Christian, the reality of dying held its grip on me. As I have experienced the death of my daughter, the fear I once had has released its grip. If my seventeen year old daughter could face death then I know I can too. I have come to realize there are so many other things that happen in the day to day life here on this earth that are way more frightening than death.
The evil we are surrounded with and hear about each day can give us great pause. When we see how we as human beings can bring such calamity into the lives of others, it can make you feel hopeless. We are faced with prejudices that are aimed in all directions. These opinions are based on unfounded bias and preconceived notions and often result in harm or injury. Tongues are sharpened and shoot out cruel words like deadly arrows. They ambush the innocent and it also encourages others in their evil ways. These are not my words but words spoken in Psalm 64.
Many of these prejudices arise from fear. The Bible tells us there is no fear in love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in them. Each human being on this earth is a creation of God Almighty. I pray each person who enters my world, I can look at them through the eyes of their creator and not through the eyes of preconceived notions. This is not always an easy thing to do. We are human and struggle with a sinful nature. I pray through the renewing of my mind, I can see past the bias and see the individual. Maybe instead of looking at our differences we should realize we all have certain desires in common and the one common denominator is we all want to be LOVED.
Lord, take away my preconceived notions of others and replace them with your heart. I pray whatever preconceived notions others have about Christians, they will see only the love of You in us.
– Michele
