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I closed my laptop, my theological curiosity hesitatingly reaching for a pair of hiking boots. I had never heard anyone speak about the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God that way.
We’ve been taught to believe that there are two options when one is feeling threatened: fight or flight. The people on the mountain with Jesus were certainly familiar with these options.
Then there’s loving oneself. Only an egotist would admit that they love themselves, right? Yet Jesus implied we must love ourselves with the statement ‘to love your neighbor as yourself.’
When I observe Christians whose positions on how to treat these people seem unChristlike, it is very tempting to see them not only as my enemies, but as enemies of Christianity. And yet some of my most loved and respected family and friends stand on the opposite side of the fence, and may indeed see my stance as the unChristian one.
In the volatile and messy world of interpersonal communication, where there is a cavernous gap between what is said and what is heard, a person can only take responsibility for two things: intention, and how that intention is communicated.
I have also found that my beliefs, at times, have functioned as a defensive wall against pain and confusion, keeping the chaos of loving and living in the world at a distance—but also keeping God at a distance.