Repaying Evil with Love... Crazy Love

Posted by Kaylee K on Thursday, February 15, 2018 Under: Faith
In the wake of the Parkfield, FL shootings it is again challenging to watch the news. It's challenging even to be on Facebook and see the polarized conversations. Or, honestly, for me it is sometimes more challenging to see selfies and trivial minutia posted when I know of the serious condition of our world. But then again, social media really is more a means of escape than a place for answers. So, where do we turn? How do we respond?



It seems to me that any human-offered solution is limited. The attacks that plague America or the violence that led hundreds of thousands of young people to flee their home countries in search of hope in Europe have no simple human solution. I believe that is because there is a root evil that drives all of these situations. And, evil cannot be regulated or negotiated. There is no compromising with evil. It seeks to destroy.

At the end of the day, I can only see one response and it is love. Not the trivialized (albeit sincere) offering of love sent out towards those who are victimized but tough love...the kind of love that led Jesus to allow his body to be mangled, beaten, broken and hung on a cross so that evil would be overcome.

Yeah, it sounds crazy. But aren't we living in crazy? How many more news stories of a young person carrying an assault weapon into his school and killing innocents can we take without screaming, "This IS crazy!"? How many more boats filled with desperate young people wanting a place to start life over after they've been enslaved, raped, brutalized and tortured can we watch overturn and sink before we tear our clothes in mourning, fall to our knees and sob, "THIS is crazy."?

So, perhaps it is time for a crazy response...crazy by human standards but standard for God. It is time for a love not of human quality but of God quality. It is the only response we have to evil. And we are promised that when we trust God's love and Jesus' sacrifice, we will be more than conquerors (Bible, Romans 8:31-39).

It's written all over the Bible. The answers are there. It is a God way; for this world it is mostly a new way. To turn away from our own contributions to what is evil and turn toward a sacrificial love that saves. Do we have the courage? Can we start today and spend this Lenten season learning God's way? Open any section of the New Testament and see a new love that saves...saves you, saves me, saves the world. 

In : Faith 


Tags: faith  jesus  love 

Blog Authors


John and Kaylee Kolditz Kaylee founded Refugee Connect in 2008. John joined the work in 2011 as we investigated the refugee situation in Europe. But our faith and cross-cultural journeys have been a work-in-progress for many years. Much of this blog reflects that. ************************************************ We met in Austin, TX, while volunteering at a serving event at Gateway Church and have been married since 2002. Marriage, parenting and ministry all require a great deal of intentionality, humility and true reliance on God for strength, wisdom, and grace. It is a journey we are grateful to be on together. Ultimately, what matters to us is building into meaningful relationships in ways that, to the best of our ability and by God's grace, demonstrate the love and hope Jesus freely offers to us all. ************************************************ We bring both business and ministry backgrounds into our current work. John started a business in his 20's and helped build several other businesses. He has also served with churches in a variety of roles including as an assistant pastor, director of community development, and missions board member. Kaylee left her marketing career to become the global missions director for our home church in Austin, TX, then founded a local refugee ministry, and became TEFL certified (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) in order to prepare for our work overseas. We have led short-term teams domestically and internationally, and served with a variety of cross-cultural ministries. In 2008, we sensed a call to build into the church in Europe, which was also around the time when God broke Kaylee’s heart for refugees. Since then, God has continued to weave together this heart for refugees, desire to serve alongside the church, and focus on His call to Europe.

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