Strength to Love - a response to Racism

How are you today?

Are you feeling mistreated, facing broken dreams, feeling fearful as to what life is throwing at you or do you need strength to forgive others?

Maybe the above does not describe how you are feeling now, but I am sure as a human being at some time in your past or at some time in the future you will face mistreatment, broken dreams, fear of what life is throwing at you or the desperate need to be freed from bitterness and/or resentment towards those who have hurt you.

Like so many of us I was shocked and appalled to see the You Tube clip of George Floyd having another human being kneeling on his neck for over eight minutes.

It is an understatement to say that quite rightly things need to change, and we should not remain quiet.

God tells us that Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8 – New International Version).

The Love God is talking about here is Agape love, there are six ancient Greek words for love and four of these are used in the Bible. Agape love is unconditional love for someone regardless of how they have treated us or what they have done to us , it is not romantic love , nor love from deep friendship, nor love developed from longstanding relationship , nor love from admiration or passionate desire for someone. It is the type of love that Jesus himself demonstrated and asks us to demonstrate when he instructs us to love our enemies and love our neighbours as ourselves.

The Greek word used for fails in 1 Corinthians 13:8 is usually translated in the Bible as ‘falling down’. In other words, Agape Love never falls down, or put very simply Agape Love will never give way in any situation. I realise that at times for many of us our experience may be of seeing our own attempts at love fail in situations. However, for a more detailed interpretation of the Agape love (which never fails) that God is speaking about you may wish to listen to the following sermon which I gave some years ago entitled 'This is How Love wins' -

https://static.wixstatic.com/mp3/9ea8e3_650e6d3b376342de873c4b3e5e244d15.mp3

I could go into further detail as to how I feel this applies regarding the battle against racism and what this means, but I feel un-qualified to do so as a middle aged white British man who has NO first-hand experience of racism towards myself.

However, on my book shelf I found a book that touches my heart deeply every time I read it and was written by a Man who did experience sustained racism toward himself and his family first hand throughout his life, who peacefully protested to end legalised racial discrimination and was very sadly assassinated at the young age of 38, his name Martin Luther King Jr.

The book is entitled strength to love and contains profound truth as to how we should all respond when we are mistreated, face broken dreams, feel fearful as to what life is throwing at us and need strength to forgive others.

The book I have is a second hand one I found in a Christian bookshop some years ago and was originally published in 1963.

Penguin books reprinted this book (with some alterations) in 1981 – under the title:

'A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love' (Penguin Modern Classics)

This new version can be purchased on kindle via Amazon for £5.49.

I would urge you to buy this book and read it and maybe buy a copy for your friends and/or family to read.

May God bless you as you read it

Below is a picture which may help us all in beginning the journey of strength to love.

Picture from the Guardian 14/06/20 reporting on A Black Lives Matters (BLM) supporter carrying a counter-protester to safety.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/14/blm-supporter-speaks-out-after-carrying-counter-protester-to-safety