The plebiscite has polarised people even in our small corner of the nation.
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We have seen anger, hurt, and pain on both sides of the debate.
People have felt isolation, fear and finger pointing.
How do we now move forward as a community with a clear outcome?
As a church, it stands to reason that we look to Jesus for that way forward, but we believe that all of us as a community can be better as we look at these three things.
1. People who weren’t like Jesus liked Jesus.
Jesus was mocked and hated by the religious people for (among other things) being a friend to those whose lifestyle in no way reflected the religion he was a part of.
What does this mean for us?
Even if we don’t affirm the way everyone in our world lives, we should be able to accept them, love them and respect them.
2. Jesus respected the laws of the land, while maintaining His personal convictions.
This is paramount as we look forward to what the actual bill will look like.
We need to continue the religious freedoms that our nation was founded on, allowing people to, inside of the laws of our land, speak freely, act freely and relate freely.
Respectfully declining the provision of services based on personal conviction should be tolerated and not condemned.
3. Everything Jesus did was out of love for people.
When he got angry, he got angry because people were being exploited through the hypocrisy of religious leaders.
Love needs to be the prevailing attitude of the day.
Love is love was the catch cry of the yes voters - but the love Jesus showed humanity was higher, grander and complete.
It was the love of self sacrifice; love that said “for the good of all I will lay down my rights”.
Let’s proceed from here aspiring to that kind of love.
At Northwest Church we continue to follow Jesus in all our frailty and humanity and try to reflect him in the city we love and call home.
He was and is full of grace and truth - 100 per cent full of both, a mathematical anomaly that means acceptance for who we are, and power to live His way.
Senior Pastors Darren and Bronwyn Bonnell are part of the Northwest Church.
