I thought I’d share something that has been weighing on my heart.

Let me begin with a story of sorts:

There was a family gathered around a dinner table. They love one another. They’ve shared holidays, birthdays, laughter, hard times, and countless ordinary moments together.

Then someone brings up politics.

Someone says something about the election. Another person disagrees. A voice becomes a little sharper. Someone interrupts.

And suddenly, something heartbreaking happens.

The person sitting across from you is no longer simply your brother, your sister, your friend, or your neighbor.

They have become “one of them.”

And I wonder if that is one of the saddest things happening in America today.

Not that we disagree.

Americans have always disagreed!

But there was a time in our history when people could stand on opposite sides of a political issue and still sit together at the same table. They could vote differently and still be neighbors. They could disagree deeply and still invite one another into their homes.

They understood something we desperately need to remember:

Disagreement does not have to destroy relationship.

I once heard a story about two neighbors who had spent years on opposite sides of a political divide. They disagreed about elections, policies, and the direction of the country.

But every summer, one neighbor brought the other tomatoes from his garden.

And every winter, the other shoveled snow from both driveways.

They disagreed about politics.

But they knew each other's birthdays. They checked on each other's families. And when one man's wife died, the other man was sitting on the front row at the funeral.

No political disagreement had become more important than the human being standing in front of them.

I think there's something deeply Christian about that.

Because before someone is on one side of the aisle or the other, they are a person made in the image of God.

Jesus never told us to love only the people who think like us.

He said:

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” — Matthew 5:9

Jesus didn't say, “Blessed are those who win every argument.”

He just said peacemakers.

Peacemaking isn't merely something we hope somebody else will create. It is something we are called to practice—especially when it is difficult, and especially when emotions are high.

James gives us remarkably practical wisdom:

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”— James 1:19

Imagine what could happen if Christians all across America actually live that verse.

Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:18–20 that God “reconciled us to himself through Christ” and gave us “the ministry of reconciliation.”

He even called believers “Christ’s ambassadors.”

An ambassador represents someone else.

So when you walk into a politically charged conversation, you don't represent only yourself.

If you belong to Jesus, you represent Him.

Your Facebook comment represents Him.

The way you speak about someone who disagrees with you represents Him.

Sometimes, before we respond, perhaps the most powerful thing we can do is simply pray:

“Jesus, help me see this person the way You see them.”

Romans 12:18 says:

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

We may not be able to control how someone else behaves. We may not be able to change their political beliefs.

But we can decide what kind of person we will be in the middle of a disagreement.

So here's my challenge—to myself as much as anyone else:

The next time a political conversation begins to turn into an argument, pause.

Take a breath.

Pray.

And ask yourself:

“How can I represent Christ right now?”

Then listen. Choose kindness. Refuse contempt.

Because America doesn't simply need Christians who are louder.

It needs Christians who are different.

Christians who can disagree without despising.

Christians who can stand firmly without becoming cruel.

Christians who can sit across the table from someone who sees the world differently—and still pass the potatoes.

Most of all, we need Christians who can carry the peace of Jesus into divided spaces.

Praying for re-unity,
- Lori Lyn