Dear Friends and Family of RRUMC,
My first thought as I write this Circuit Rider article is that I hope and pray that all of you are OK. I hope and pray that you and your families and the people you love and care for are safe and happy and healthy.
We always say things like that in our world but we have never meant it as much as we do now. I know that the world and our country and our communities are going through so much right now that it is hard to keep up with a world that seems to keep spinning out of control all around us. Watching the news only seems to add to the stress and anxiety that we are all feeling. I pray that you are all well in the midst of what we are facing.
We are slowly trying to reopen the country as we learn to live with the reality that, for the time being, COVID-19 is here and not going anywhere. That changes the way we shop, interact, travel, and even the way we will worship when we come back together. We are also still stunned at the murder of George Floyd by the police officer in Minneapolis. We are shocked as a nation that this kind of unjust and racist treatment is still happening to African Americans in our country. Our nation still has a long way to go to truly treat all people as equals. We also watched peaceful protestors get their message hijacked by people who just wanted to create chaos. All of those things are happening all around us and it can be very unsettling and cause us to see only the darkness. At the very least, it can cause us to focus only on the darkness, thus causing us to miss the light that is shining all over the place.
In John 8:12, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of the world.” It also says in John 1:5, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” No matter how dark it gets, the light is always shining. The darkness cannot overcome the light.
Our task is to focus on the light that is still shining in the darkness. It is a heart and mind shift on behalf of those who follow Jesus Christ. We are making a choice to seek out the light in the midst of all the darkness we see in the news. We cannot hide ourselves from the world around us. Instead we are called to engage it as we seek out the light. This past week I watched, in multiple cities, police officers step over the barricades that separated themselves from the peaceful protestors in order to walk arm in arm with those on the other side of the barricades. I also watched peaceful protestors invite the police to the other side of the barricades to walk with them. In the midst of the dark situation of racism, injustice, and hatred, I saw the light of Jesus Christ shine. It is in those amazingly dark times that the light always seems to shine the brightest.
My prayer in the midst of all that we are facing as a nation is that we, as Christians, will be ambassadors of the light of Jesus Christ in the world. When you are faced with the darkness of a situation, how will Jesus use you to bring about the light that will never be overcome by that darkness? How are you rethinking the way you look at the news of our world today? When you watch it, where is the light? How is Jesus moving to cast out the darkness?
How is Jesus’ light shining in you? The darker it gets, the brighter the light of Christ shines within you. Shine, RRUMC, shine!
Peace and Blessings,
Rev. Daniel F. Bogre