Dear Resistance

To those who feel their voice is lost in the wind, I hear you. To those who feel inherently disqualified, I believe in you. To those who choose to Love first when our world tells you that you are naïve, I stand with you.

That whisper in your ear that you are unqualified, not smart enough, brave enough, faithful enough, theologically educated enough, cool enough, charismatic enough, articulate enough, are all blatant lies. Hear me when I say, you are exactly the voice we need to hear.

Living in the pursuit of red letter Love will come with great critics. You will be cut down and criticized by many who back their attacks with a smoke-screen of logic and theology. You will be rejected and the world will hate your words as they contradict our culture of egocentric independence. You will indeed be a sheep among the wolves.

I hope you know to the depths of your soul, your efforts are not fruitless. You were not put on this earth to live a life of apathy while building a small empire of comforts that leave no imprint on this world.

You have willingly lost the life our world tells you that you are to want, and found a deeper source of life in the pursuit of bold sacrificial Love. The narrow path that follows the red letters is not easy, but the rewards are great.

Your efforts to live this life won’t appear logical. The ways of Jesus don’t align with our culture or our world. Your words will directly and indirectly challenge the Western bubble of comfort. But my friend, the value of pursuing Love is worth every opponent you may make and every comfort you are denied, it is the pearl of great price.

We could preach to the mountain tops with deep theological principles that resonate with the masses, but if we don’t have Love, we are nothing. The words of the world may give the illusion of hope in logic, but without Love, they are but dust in the wind. We may feel broken, we may feel inadequate, but with Love we are the light in the midst of darkness. The greatest in history are those whom the world dismissed. Know that when they dismiss your ways of red letter Love, they do not disqualify your voice.

My friend, I want you to know I see you. I see you smile at “the other” with a heart of warmth and kindness. I see you humanize when the world tells you to fear. I see you lose friends and family who you care for deeply because of your vocal advocacy to Love first. I see you hurt when they call you names, criticize your intellect, your logic, your theology. I see you stand in the pain and refuse to back down from the way of bold Love, regardless of the cost.

I need you to hear my words right now. Your efforts matter. Your voice matters. You are the change that our world needs to see.

Photo by Christopher Sardegna on Unsplash.

Sheri Faye Rosendahl is a writer, lover of bold love, the Middle East, Yoga and cookies. Currently Sheri is working on her first book, Not Your White Jesus, which will be out Fall of 2018. You can find more of her writing at NotYourWhiteJesus.org, the HuffPost, or find her on Facebook. Sheri and her husband, Rich, also run a non-profit called The Nations, doing peace and humanitarian work with refugee neighbors from the Middles East, both domestically and abroad.