Recognizing that we have prejudices is the first step to truly loving one another as Jesus loves us. But how do we see past them?
That is a huge conversation in our day, but it’s also one that my main character, Oriel, faces as she is uprooted from her family and sent into slavery in a foreign land. As a young Jewish girl, she had been insulated from the outside world. And the narrative being fed to her impressionable ears stated that her people were chosen by God while all others were pagans whom He had rejected.
Fast forward to her enslavement by a pagan culture, and her religious pride mocks everything about the people surrounding her. From their inability to speak her language, to their stupidity in worshipping idols, Oriel views them with disdain. As a result, she holds them all at a distance, refusing to be “tainted” by association with these pagans.
Sadly, as believers, we often approach the world with the same perspective. God has called us by name and we have responded. We are now walking in the light of His truth while everyone else is deluded. And that holier-than-thou attitude all too quickly sneaks in as we distance ourselves from the broken, dark world around us, wanting to prove that we are nothing like them.
But what if God sent us back into the world so that we could share that light of His truth? What if His heart longs to hold the broken, confused, and hurting ones who don’t know about His goodness and mercy? What if our responsibility as believers is to reach a dying world with His love?
This is what Oriel discovers for herself. But it started first by recognizing her own brokenness and her need of His mercy. As the Church, we must also recognize that we have all been in bondage to sin, and only God could set us free. Without Him, we are nothing! We could never live holy lives on our own. It is only His grace that empowers us to walk out our faith day by day.
“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” (Rom 3:23-24, NLT)
Oriel’s journey to understanding her own brokenness leads her to look with eyes of compassion on the brokenness around her. The truth at last dawns that perhaps God has sent her into this dark world to be a light and to extend the same mercy that she received to others.
I admit, I am not so different from Oriel. I had seasons where I walked my own judgmental, self-righteous path, not caring about those around me. And God had to humble me by reminding me of my own ugly rap sheet where I failed His glorious standard. I had been a Christian for years, yet I still clung to the sin that God despises the most. Pride. Only when I saw my own ugliness at last, did I finally begin to understand God’s mercy.
He isn’t looking for perfection. He is looking for ones who will acknowledge their great need for Him and who will receive His mercy with thankful, humble hearts. We are all needy people. We need His love, His forgiveness, His grace, His affirmation. So, if you have received some of that, then give it away.
No matter how much I myself have been given, the fact remains, I need Him. And because recognizing my need sparks compassion on others, I can freely give without prejudice and without holding back.
Does that mean I’ve learned to love people the way He loves them? Not even close. But slowly those walls of prejudice are coming down. I am so thankful for God’s mercy in my life. And I’m grateful that He is teaching me how to love.
What if the man who killed your family needed help only you could give?
Thirteen-year-old Oriel dreams of leading Israel to victory over their enemies, just like the bold and daring heroines of her faith. But those dreams are shattered when a long-standing feud between nations flares up again and she is taken captive to pagan Damascus. Abandoned by the God of her fathers, she struggles to hold on to faith and find purpose in her captivity. But when she comes face-to-face with the man who slaughtered her family, bitterness threatens to snuff out what little faith she has scraped together right when she—and the murderer—need it most.
Tasked with reclaiming Syria’s glory, Commander Na’aman conducts raids into the land of Israel. But when he unexpectedly collides with a strange prophet and witnesses the power of Israel’s mysterious God, he is left shaken. Does the God of Israel have more power than his gods? Na’aman is not convinced. Until the leprosy appears. Has Israel’s God at last taken revenge on him? Stripped of his title, his dignity, and cast out from society, he has nowhere left to turn. Except to his enemies.
When the Stars Fought will be available February 1 for pre-order on Amazon.
A couch-lover with an overactive hero-complex, Alicia van Huizen has been known to kill vipers and block the path of runaway cows. She grew up in Texas, but hightailed it to Europe as fast as she could where the pages of history could come alive around her. Her two years of a discipleship school on the Biblical island of Cyprus quickly turned into 9 more years serving as a missionary on staff with her husband where she currently leads worship and weekly Bible studies. There in Cyprus, her four great loves collided together: writing, history, the nations, and above all else, the Word of God. Check out her free Biblical fiction short story at www.aliciavanhuizen.com