Watching TV with my eight-year-old daughter, “one of those” commercials came on. You know- the ones with the political candidate you disagree with. I scrambled to grab the remote as fast as I could to switch it over to cartoons but I wasn’t fast enough- she watched the whole thing through and then said, “You know, Dad, I think I’d vote for him.”
My knee-jerk reaction was to think I’d failed my kid. But then I said, “Tell me why you say that.” Turns out, she thought that a few of the things he said would affect her future, but she’d also noticed something I didn’t- the candidate had a dog in his family picture. In our house, if you have a dog, you can’t be all bad!
Political commercials are one of the few things that can make me (and maybe you, too) forget one foundational truth of faith- each of us is created in the image of God, intimately beloved as we are. What if we saw tense political seasons as invitations to practice a little more grace by recognizing our shared belovedness in God?
Next time you’re home watching TV and “one of those” commercials comes on, try this: don’t turn the channel. See that moment as an opportunity for a short prayer, “This person is God’s beloved.” Intentionally seeing God’s belovedness in others may just change your life… and mine, too.
The Pastor’s Place features columns written by a different area church leader each month. Call 940-728-8284 for more information.
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