Well, it happened again. The last time I took a couple of weeks off from writing, a global pandemic hit. This time I took a couple of weeks off and our country erupted into civil unrest. If those events weren’t so catastrophic, the coincidence could be considered humorous. It’s not. It’s incredibly sad.

We are in a catastrophic season. Friends, since the moment Adam and Eve fell from grace, all of mankind has been suffering in a perpetual season of catastrophe. Jesus warned us that we would have trouble in this world — and He was right. The world has fallen far from the beautiful holiness and wholeness of God’s original design. The tragic consequences of that loss bear down heavy on the entire world — and that includes the obedient followers of Jesus Christ. There are a lot of scammers out there trying to convince you that following Jesus will grant you the perfect life you want on this planet. They are lying to get your money or your attention. The sooner you learn that lesson, the better off you will be.

In His soaring Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us this heads-up, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Did you catch that? He told us it would rain on the just and the unjust. In other words, the effects of brokenness would be experienced by all of us — ALL OF US — and that includes believers. In the midst of the carnage-filled rain, He calls on His children to LOVE and to PRAY FOR and to GREET EVERYONE — even if they are the very people who are causing the rain! If we want to share in the DNA of our heavenly Father, then we must demonstrate love to everyone — regardless of their race, gender, creed, sexual orientation, socio-economic status or political affiliation — Jesus wanted us to love even the people who are attacking us. He preached it, and then He demonstrated that love on the cross by pouring His extravagant grace on scoundrels like you and me.

Wait, I’m not a scoundrel, and neither are you. Uh oh. That’s the problem. We think we are good. That would explain our arrogance and smugness. We need to read Romans 3 again. If there is any good in you and me, it is attributable only to God’s redeeming grace. If we think otherwise, then we have elevated ourselves above others — even above God. The lofty perch upon which we sit stands as a repulsive idol before Almighty God. He knows exactly who we are. We’re not fooling Him.

From our lofty perch, we have been judging others. Do you see the irony from God’s point of view? Here we are, scoundrels saved only by His grace, and yet we believe we have the right to sit in judgement on others — and even on Him! There is only one Judge, and He is not sharing that role with you or me.

Instead of judging, God has called on us to love. But you say, “Hartzell! How will people know how wrong they are unless we tell them? Isn’t it our job to make sure they know they are sinful?”

Nope. That’s God’s job. And He is the only one qualified to do so because He is the only one who can see inside the human heart. You and I don’t have that power. And since we cannot judge intent, God sets us free to do one incredible, grace-filled and world changing thing: LOVE EACH OTHER IN THE RAIN!

The world is convinced that most Christians don’t like them. We are frustrated when we hear that, but there is a reason for it — and it has much to do with our judgmental perches. From our lofty positions, we tend to look down on everyone else — and that downward glance is obvious to them.

How it all must break the heart of God. We laugh at the Israelites because they kept falling into idolatry. Sometimes, we are no different. Our lofty perch is our idol and every time we look down on someone else, we offer worship to the idol of our own arrogance.

What a mess — and it is a mess of our own making. But God has good news for all us! If we will climb down from our lofty perches and humbly fall on our faces before Almighty God, He will heal us. Our downward perspective will turn upward and the world will begin to see the change. Listen to His voice:

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

My fellow believers, the blame game must stop. The biggest problem this world faces is hardened Christianity. We need to stop blaming everyone else and take responsibility for our own mistakes. Until we Christians soften up and own our arrogance and idolatry, the world has no hope — and neither do we.

There is hope, and the seed is planted in our hardened hearts. God wants to break up that hard ground today — and it seems that He is using a season of rain to soften us.

I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of praying to do.