Invitation Beats Confrontation (Love Wins)

Always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. (1 Peter 3:15-16)

Sometimes beauty provides its own commentary. This - above left - is from the mess of bromeliads that crowd in alongside our front walk. I love the way the colors work together in a splash of celebration. It's nothing remotely close to the way I would design a flower if I started from scratch - but it works in every way possible; the effect is both surprising and exactly right at the same time.

If it wasn't for the pollen, Spring would be my favorite time of the year. Actually, I should say if it weren't for the hyper-sensitivity of my sinus passages. It's not the pollen's fault I can't handle inhaling several cubic feet of yellow dust every time I breath in! But my allergy only lasts a few weeks, and I usually get away with no more than a handful of bad "attacks" each year.

I don't remember who it was, but one of my friends left the following comment (or close to it) on facebook a few weeks back: "Dear Pollen; I know you have important work to do, but please try to stay out of my nose. Love, me."

But, philosophically (if you can be philosophical about something like pollen?), I have to admit I appreciate the foundational principle of how pollen operates. Flowers generate a saturation level of what it might take to get the job done and they just "put it out there." The pollen coats everything, regardless, because some of it is going to end up in the right place.

I can't help thinking about what we can learn, especially those of us who believe we have something important to share with the world. We could learn something from the flowers, and simply saturate our families and communities with love, hope, peace, promise and grace.

• Invitation instead of confrontation. 
• Saturation rather than isolation. 
• Amelioration as opposed to alienation.

Instead, too many prefer the "hostile takeover" technique. Imagine having something wonderful to share, but instead of saturating the community with life we call people out, shove them against the wall, berate, condemn, criticize, catalogue their shortcomings, threaten them with hell and then - as if denouncing the people we're supposed to pollinate isn't enough - turning on other believers because they have a slightly different take on things and threatening them with eternal damnation for daring to open their hearts and minds....

"A-choo! A-choo!" Bless you... No, really; bless you.
- DEREK