It takes all sorts to make a world; or a church. This may be even truer of a church. If grace perfects nature it must expand all our natures into the full richness of the diversity which God intended when He made them, and Heaven will display far more variety than Hell. “One fold” doesn’t mean “one pool.” Cultivated roses and daffodils are no more alike than wild roses and daffodils.

C.S. Lewis in Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer

In this season of unrest, here are a few things to consider. These are things I’ve been thinking about with which you may or may not agree. That is fine. I only ask that you think with me for a few minutes.

• It is imperative that we guard our hearts and minds. If you are planted in a church and sit under the ministry of the Word, you are constantly being reminded of the spiritual disciplines of prayer and reading the Bible. Times like these intensely illuminate why this is necessary for Christians. Hearts not knit with God in prayer and minds not bathed in the Word are going to drown in falsehood, distortion, and everything that trends away from righteousness.

• Or, as God puts it via the prophet, Jeremiah: “The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be.” Jeremiah 17:9 MSG

• In the novel, Ordinary Grace, by William Kent Krueger, one character makes this observation about World War II: “Sometimes I think it wasn’t so much the war as what we took into the war. Whatever cracks were already there were forced apart and what otherwise we might have kept inside came spilling out.” Think about this in regard to the current struggle. And remember in your own conversations: sometimes people just want to be heard. The act of attentive listening and responding with a spirit of grace may be just what is needed in that moment.

• Which means we model God: “Certainly the Lord has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer.” Psalm 66:19

• There are 800,000 sworn police officers in the United States. An average of 88 die each year while on duty – men and women, all ethnicities, from newly sworn-in to near-retirement. I’m not going to qualify these numbers with, “Of course, there are a few murderous rogues among them. . .” You already know that is tragically true. However, the majority, vast majority, are men and women who are dedicated to protecting and serving their communities and do so with enormous commitment and courage. Surely we have the maturity and enough rational thinking left to not hate them. In the months ahead, when there are mass early retirements in police forces, recruitment levels plunge, and you have to take a number when calling 9-1-1, remember how we got there.

• We can also heed the Apostle Paul’s instruction: “Pray for all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful lives marked by godliness and dignity.” Excerpt I Timothy 2:1-2

• Finally, as our pastor reminded us this past Sunday: “People are not our enemies; they are our mission. Approach them with humility, empathize with grace, and build relationships.” Overflow with love. Overflow with love. Overflow with love.

• Or, as the Apostle Paul puts it so succinctly: “If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” I John 4:11 No one should be better at this than Christians.

• One more thing. As Lewis said: “Heaven will display far more variety than hell.” Raise your kids to love and thrive in the full richness of the medley of peoples in God’s kingdom, which is, after all, a precious privilege.