ripped apart

Today in the One Year Bible, we read from Acts 22:17-23:10. Paul is under arrest, and he tells the crowd that he's in trouble because of his belief in the resurrection. Which is true, as far as it goes. And the crowd goes nuts, divided down the middle between those who believe in an afterlife and those who don't. The soldiers are afraid they're going to tear Paul in two, like he did to them. So they take him somewhere safe.

Our country is like that crowd. It's being torn into two halves, one half believing the life after death, and the other half thinking that this is all we've got. We need to pull back together again, and not let our differences destroy us. Both sides have good things to add to our view of the world. We DO need to take care of the planet. We do need to take care of immigrants. And we need to remember that God and heaven and hell are real, and that what we do in this life will have consequences in the next.

Let's not follow Paul's example of tearing the crowd apart. Instead, let's work toward peace, and pray that His kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven.

God, thanks for teaching us to help heal our world.

PS don't google images of "ripped apart". yeesh.