Hey y’all! My name is Lainey Hutchison, and I have the pleasure of interning for YMCo in Memphis this summer. Every week, I am blessed to discover new ways in which the Lord speaks to me through the passages we read. I'd like to share with y'all a snippet of how the Lord has revealed Himself to me through the scripture this week. Every Wednesday during morning devotion, I lead the groups in a discussion pertaining to Joshua 2. Joshua 2 is likely a familiar passage to you, as it depicts the story of Rahab and the spies sent by Joshua. Rahab, a prostitute, is used by God to assist the two spies and the Canaanites in getting through Jericho on their way to the “promised land.” In this story, Rahab is treated as a beloved “child of God,” despite any other labels she may have had at the time, including being a prostitute. I think the phrase "child of God" has become a bit cliché among Christians, including myself. We often use it without fully understanding its significance. What does it really mean to genuinely love and acknowledge everyone as beloved children of Christ, just as Rahab was? This week, my group demonstrated the answer to this question through their actions. On the last program night of the week, I witnessed as my group engaged in a theological discussion pertaining to acceptance in the Church. It was a beautiful experience to witness minds and hearts being challenged and transformed as the group learned more about how to love their neighbors. We cannot truly love one another as "children of God" until we open our hearts and minds to different perspectives. That said, I had the pleasure of getting to watch journeys of genuine love and acceptance towards each one of our neighbors begin, and it was life changing. During our work with the Lynching Sites Project, I had the chance to listen to students openly discuss their experiences with racial perceptions, history, and how both affected them. It was a profound experience, as honest conversations were had, emotions were expressed, questions were raised, and important discussions were initiated. Genuine conversations are crucial in understanding how to intentionally love each “child of God." Witnessing the impact of these conversations on the group, especially as some members were confronted with the harsh reality of the country's past for the first time, was truly empowering. It reinforced the importance of acknowledging and understanding everyone's past in order to truly love and respect each other as "children of God." Every individual you encounter has an entire sequence of events, ordained by God, that have put them where they are, and I encourage you to think of that going forward. Consider how that might alter the way you love other “children of God.” I want to challenge you to be willing to have a conversation and to hear different perspectives because I believe that without doing either of these, we cannot fully love each other as “children of God” as the Lord calls us to. by Lainey Hutchison
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