Religion

By Rock Jones

By Robert J. Gustafson

I have a love/hate relationship with Valentine’s Day. I love it because I appreciate any day that celebrates and promotes love, and I like to see the visual symbol of love, simple red hearts, floating around everywhere. Love truly does seem to be in the air around the week of Feb. 14. On the other hand, I hate the commercialization of the day and that it promotes just one idea of love; and that singular idea of love can make people feel lonely.

What if …..? We need to ask the “What if” question more often. I think that every time I see a billboard proclaiming the Ten Commandments. I ask, “What if the billboard proclaimed Christ’s Beatitudes instead?”

Jesus was a radical. We often think of gentle Jesus meek and mild, but he said some things that messed with his contemporaries, and would mess with us … if we let them. His manifesto is known as “The Sermon on the Mount” and can be found in Matthew chapters 5 through 7. Right at the heart of that teaching are the radical statements, “Do not resist an evil person,” and “I tell you, love your enemies.”

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” — John 14:1

This is my first Gazette article. Another first, I think, is that I may be the only pastor to have served churches in southern Florida and Southern California, and then chose to move to Ohio! I find it more than amusing that so many folks with bewildered eyes ask, “Why would you leave there to come to here?” Let me give you three reasons, all of which have spiritual lessons that I get to live out every day.

“But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor’?” — Luke 10:29

I used to tell people that my New Year’s resolutions were to watch more TV, take up smoking and drinking, and try to gain 20 pounds. If those are my resolutions, then I am in a “no lose” situation. If I do any of them then I have accomplished a goal. If I fail at any of them, I have improved my life. Follow me for more life hacks!

Disturbing things have come to light in 2022. Of course, in polarized America, how you think about things like media bias, gender, Twitter censorship, political corruption, January 6, cryptocurrency, financial scandal, and a host of other things often depends on your affiliations, right? We can hardly agree on anything anymore. Well, I’ve thought of something we can agree on that would make our community better in 2023: let’s resolve to minimize the role of divisive people in our lives.