“God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth,” (Matthew 5:5).
It is hard to know what to write after such widespread devastation from recent hurricanes. The situation is dire here in North Carolina too, with unimaginable stories coming out of the mountain communities.
Our own adopted home, Tarboro, saw catastrophic flooding after Hurricane Floyd in 1999 and then again with Matthew in 2016, when the Tar River spilled its banks and destroyed everything in its path.
I share this not as a competing narrative but as hope and inspiration, a testimony to what is possible when people work together to write a new story going forward, one of tenacity and resolve and promise and victory.
It turns out there is nothing like extended recovery when it comes to setting aside the petty things that divide us, focusing on what we have in common, helping one another and why it is we love the community where we live.
Fact is, arguing about someone else’s politics turns out to be profoundly inconsequential when there is a community that needs love and support and encouragement and hope.
This truth demands even further amplification in the context of faith. Jesus made this crystal clear at the beginning of his Sermon on the Mount, where his words about humility are especially apt.
“God blesses those who are humble,” he said, “for they will inherit the whole earth.”
With all the power plays splashed across the headlines, day in and day out, it is important to remember that Jesus turns traditional priorities on their head.
Serve your neighbor. Put people in need ahead of yourself. Work for the good of those around you. If someone is your enemy, go out of your way to help them too.
There is a lot of cleanup and a mountain of work to be done. But there is also a mountain of love at our disposal, bigger than anyone’s selfishness or hate or thirst for power.
Each and every new day, regardless of hurricane or flood or catastrophe or November elections, our opportunity is to serve one another with love.
— DEREK
