ROOTED - Tuesday, July 22, 2025

John 13:34
34 A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

Reflection: George Floyd
Written By: Pastor Jesse Caro
While we were in Minneapolis, we served in one ministry that prepared meals for the poor. It was in downtown Minneapolis just a few blocks away from where George Floyd was tragically killed. The chef working in this food kitchen recounted his recollections of the day the riots began. He would see the riots in the streets from the window right where we were serving. That building would be looted, along with several miles of downtown buildings. He recounted also the fear he had as the riots were at their peak. I cannot imagine the terror so many people must have felt. The killing of George Floyd was a tragedy that cascaded into chaos in Minneapolis… and eventually around sectors of the United States.

We drove to the George Floyd memorial at the site where he was killed. It was sad to see... a memorial about abuse of power that has fomented into distrust in a community stricken with drug abuse and poverty. What in the world can Christianity and the church do to speak into a culture where this possible? We must speak the simple words of Christ: love one another. We must not simply speak these words, of course, but we must lead by example. We must love one another… people of all kinds, shapes, sizes, ethnicities. We must love the world as God loved the world sending his Son. I contend that if the church truly displayed love in this dark world, just maybe there would be less abuse of power, less rioting, less hate. We are the salt of the world… the preserving agent that makes this world a good place to live. If we, however, lose our saltiness, we might expect to see a world in disarray: a world of riots and abuse. May we display true and genuine love!  

Prayer
Heavenly Father, empower us by your Spirit to display love in this world… a display of the good of God for the world to see.