The other night, I invited a couple of dear friends over for an early Christmas dinner. I have known them for years, and we all get along amazingly well. Yes, we get along even when we disagree about some important things. I can hear a collective gasp as I write this. Over the years, we have disagreed on finer points of doctrine, political opinions, government mandates, and personal health choices. And yet, our friendship remains strong and healthy.
Things got a little heated the other night but never once did we lose respect or love for each other. We didn’t feel disrespected when the other person disagreed with us. Our mutual love and respect created a safe place to discuss thorny issues. When my company left, we all left feeling that we were heard. Even when we disagreed on some things, we all agreed on two essential things: our love of God and our unconditional love and support for one another.
I wrote the following a few years back, and I thought I would share it with you again. Hopefully, it will be of help as you head into 2022.
Yes, I Still Love You
Yes, I love you.
Even if I cannot celebrate everything you celebrate, I still love you.
When I disagree with you, it does not mean I hate you.
Yes, I respect you, even if I cannot endorse every decision you make.
Just because I cannot endorse your choices, it does not mean I do not respect you as a person.
Yes, I will fight for you if anyone dares bully you or slander you or paint you with a broad paintbrush of hateful stereotypes born out of ignorance.
Even as my faith increasingly becomes a victim of media bullying, slander, and deliberate misrepresentation in the hopes of silencing my voice, I will continue to stand by you and step between you and your bullies.
All I ask is that you do the same for me.
Hate and disagreement are not synonyms. Let’s go back to open dialogue without the sensationalist filters that modern-day media places on disagreement, especially in matters of faith. The media loves to assume people of faith are radicals, bigots, and judgmental. All I ask is this one thing. Please don’t assume I hate you without asking me first.
All Bible references are from the NASB 1995 unless indicated otherwise.
If you would like to partner with my ministry, my Paypal address is http://paypal.me/kathwalden OR I do have an amazon.ca wishlist – If you have a US Amazon account, you can create an amazon.ca account quite easily and save on international shipping charges. If you buy something from my wishlist for me, it will automatically ship to me.
Until next week,
©2021 Katherine Walden