There's so much happening in the world lately. We all respond very differently to it and that our human nature. For most of us our world has been turned upside down, and when our world doesn't make sense anymore it's natural to lose our sense of safety. I've experienced firsthand how God understands our struggles and desires to see us through them. He doesn't mind if we stumble or even fall when our worlds crumble, but when we keep our eyes on Him and allow Him to raise us again He will see us through.
Lately, however, I had a dream about our response as Christians that I believe is very important.
In the dream, I was in a compound with many other people. We saw danger approach us from a distance and we needed to prepare. Some of us watched TV intently and saw up-close images of the enemy fighting. They were convinced the enemy was already in the building and panicked. They screamed and yelled that we had to make a last stand!
In the compound, a mass panic erupted and people started running around frantically without thinking. I saw people run wildly with tears in their eyes. I watched how people were told to hide behind a fragile glass wall, I watched how the most vulnerable were deliberately left to fend for themselves, while those who tried to help them were held back from doing so. I saw how people were told they were not talented enough to make it through. I saw how people took offense by those who tried to help and yelled at them in anger. It was absolute chaos.
After a while, when things settled down and no attack had happened, we checked what was going on and found that the people watching TV had misinterpreted the images. The images had been close-ups, but the fight was so very far away that there was a reason for concern, but no reason for panic.
When I woke up from the dream I heard the Dutch word “roeptoeter”. This somewhat funny word means to loudly impose a shortsighted opinion on others. Like someone blurting out statements without any room for conversation, questions, or outside perspectives. In essence, this is what the people who watched tv were doing. They zoomed in on new footage, got consumed by the danger, and loudly imposed their own fears on others. They may have been right about some things, but their actions caused enormous effects. Instead of solidarity and safety, they created chaos, danger, anger, fear, hopelessness, worthlessness, and selfishness.
Unfortunately, I see this happen a lot among Christians and even ministries. Our world is being turned upside down and many things leave us frightened: the fear of not worshiping together in a building, the fear of ending up with a different president than we expected, the fear of losing our freedom to choose, and many other things. It's so easy to focus on what's wrong in the world, and God is okay with is struggling with it. But what's not okay is for us to impose our worries and struggles onto others. It's not okay to forget about how our words and actions affect others.
In the dream, the TV watchers did warn others and this may sound like a loving and Godgiven obligation. But if they genuinely cared, they would have gone to the most vulnerable first, rather than leave them to fend for themselves. They would have spoken words of encouragement and hope, rather than breaking people's confidence. They would have pointed out safe places to hide, instead of sending them to a glass wall. And they would try to extend their hand to the offended, telling them they would fight for them anyway.
God's first mission for us is not to expose and defeat the darkness. That was Jesus' mission when He died on the cross. Our first mission is to LOVE. To love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. Any time we forfeit our first mission, we've started walking a dangerous path ourselves. And frankly, this often is Satan's strategy to get us away from God. He loves to scare us into chasing himself, just to divert our attention from God's values.
I feel that this dream is a cry from God for these difficult times. Calling us to extend grace and love to ourselves and others. To stop loudly forcing our opinions on others without considering the effect it has on His Kingdom. Learning how to communicate with God's core values of faith, hope, and love. To spread encouragement rather than fear, and unity instead of division.
Together we're His body, so let's treat it the way it deserves to be.
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