Over the past week, the world feels like it is falling apart. Every day, we are deluged with acts of horror, deceit, aggression and hate. I have been asked several times by those I know, how can I keep smiling and not become completely despondent.
The truth is, I believe with all my heart that love will see us through these times as it always has. I keep going knowing that truth.
When I was a young girl in parochial school, I was taught that God was Love. I took that to heart. I also know that each of us has a spark of Divine love within us and that when we connect to that spark, we are able to stay strong, even in the face of unspeakable horror.
I know there are those that feel one religion is the answer to everything, but as an interfaith minister, I have witnessed that the different faith paths of my siblings around the world long for the same things — peace, happiness, and most of all, love.
Let me be clear, we are not talking about romantic love. While I enjoy a good Hallmark romance, this is not the love that will change the world. The Love I am speaking about is Divine, unconditional and pure. This Love wants us to be safe, happy and to recognize that we are all part of the great Family of God.
Like a beautiful garden filled with different flowers, bushes and trees, humans have a vast difference of colors, shapes, talents, beliefs and ways to grow. These differences are not “wrong.” What is wrong is when we force others to believe what we believe, kill each other in the name of one religion or another, oppress those who are too weak to resist and hate others because they do not adhere to our version of who we are. Every time humans have imposed these types of restrictions on others, they have eventually fallen. Love always wins, even when it takes years or even centuries.
I read a quote that said the war in Iran was “a true investment in your children and your grandchildren’s future.” No war is ever an investment in the future of our children or grandchildren. Every time we go to war with each other, we destroy families. How can that be an investment? How can children whose mothers and fathers are killed in war find comfort in “winning” a war? How can mothers and fathers find comfort, knowing their children were sacrificed for someone’s greed and ego? War never gives; it only destroys.
Love on the other hand, brings us together. Anyone with families that are homogenized — different faiths, races, genders and nationalities — can tell you that. My family is filled with people of many nations, various races, faith paths and genders. We all love and respect each other. That is not to say that we agree one hundred percent of the time. Absolutely not! But we do love each other. We see the Divine within each person, whether they are of our kin or not.
Look through any of the world’s Holy Scriptures you will find that the primary tenet of all of them is to love one another. Nowhere in any of the scriptures that I have read does it say, “only those who are like you.”
If we want this world to come back to center, then we are the ones who must connect with our Divine spark and share that Divine love with the world. No one faith or group has the power to do it alone. We all must do the work of bringing peace back to our world. We start within ourselves, our families, our communities and eventually the tide will turn for the world.
Rev. Dr. Linda M. Rhinehart Neas is an ordained interfaith minister. She graduated with a doctorate in Theology from The New Seminary in New York City. She often fills the pulpit in local churches. She maintains an international, online ministry through Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/revlindaneas.) She is also a certified Spiritual Coach. Rev. Linda lives in South Deerfield with her beloved Roger in their “Enchanted Cottage.”