With the verdict of the Grand Jury of the Brown Death in Ferguson, Missouri looms and the growing tension of the Immigration issue mounts, all that we must do is wait for the verdict of the Jury and the pen stroke of the President. All of the news sources are prophesying a ‘doomsday’ sort of outcome for both.

But wait! There is more, much more. The final word has yet to be determined. What about the Church? What are we to do? Jesus clearly points to many things, but here are three examples from our Lord:

Matthew 5:9, “The peacemakers are blessed, for they will be called sons of God.”

Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth.”

Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world.”

No doubt, each of us has taken a political and emotional view of both of these powerful events that are unfolding in our Nation. While most of us are affected because of proximity, each of us is affected because of how these decisions will touch our communities and Nation. Proximity is not the issue, but each of us who is a Follower of the Christ must be involved because whether we like it or not, we have the choice to be peacemakers, salt and light in our local communities.

Notice that Jesus says, “the peacemakers are blessed, for they will be called the sons of God.” Realizing the truth of these words can only be known if, indeed, His Followers are the salt and light of the world. And we cannot be the salt if we are not somehow calming tensions and we cannot be the light if we are not proclaiming the Good News.

Jesus is Lord. BW