Since the Boston tragedy I’ve been thinking again about the role of a believer in this world so filled with pain and trouble. We tend to think these days are unique–more filled with trouble than past times. Probably not. We may be heading toward the end times, although most of us aren’t sure exactly what that will look like. There certainly seem to be more natural disasters, or is it just that the media is everywhere today and we get a steady diet of all the mayhem happening around the globe? Either way, I can only be responsible for my own behavior. What should my thoughts and actions be?

Social media makes it possible for me to get into the heads of all my friends. I watch their posts and feel their strong feelings right along with them. Interestingly I have friends all along the spectrum from left to right. I’ve always been in the middle of the soup that way. When I first found my faith as an adult I belonged to a church that doesn’t believe in war and violence as means of solving problems. I fit just fine there. I still believe that the Jesus way is one of love, not violence. We’re not asked to fight the battles around the world, but to let God do the fighting for us. And most of that fighting is inside of us– changing our selfish hearts and our stubborn minds. I’m okay with lots of my friends disagreeing with me.

But, what do I have to offer this hurting world? I can post nasty, vindictive comments and pictures accusing everyone who doesn’t agree with me of all sorts of things– their faith, their honesty, their identity. But I choose not to do that. If my message isn’t positive, why would anyone want to listen to it? I think of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well. She was a prostitute, a miserable sinner, but she was a human being and Jesus treated her with respect. He listened to her talk about the differences between the Hebrew and Samaritan ways of worship. Then he cut right to the heart of the matter and offered her the way to eternal life. She recognized him as God and went home to tell others. She was won over by truth and love.

Being positive and loving doesn’t mean being lukewarm. It means acting the way Jesus did when he met those needing him. Can I do that? Well, that’s my plan and I’m sticking to it. I still hide all the gun messages and the attacks on our leaders. I pass over the posts that focus on liberal causes I don’t have time to be involved with. I won’t let the anger and judgments affect my day. But when I come across an individual who needs to know about the God who loves them, that’s when I need to speak. I can offer hope and love. That’s what I have to offer.