Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD....

Psalms 33:12

At this time of extremism in religious fervor throughout the world, we would do well to remember that we worship the one who gave his life for those whom we would called his enemies. He called for his followers to "turn the other cheek" and to love those who persecute you. The call of Jesus is for radical love of God and one's neighbor. When one looks at how the apostle Paul defines love in I Corinthians 13 we find:

⁴ Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; ⁵ it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ⁶ it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. ⁷ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Somehow when I read this I cannot see how those who claim to serve the kingdom can burn books, yell and scream in other people's faces, or condemn and judge others. It is by grace that we are saved. The question that one needs to ask daily is "What would Jesus do?" We are our brother's keeper.