It’s pretty rare that something leaves me speechless. After all, words are a big part of my life. I spend most of my week immersed in words – reading words for myself and writing words for others. That means, when the time comes, I usually have at least a word or two to spare.

But the past couple weeks have left me speechless. I felt a lot of things as I watched the video of George Floyd begging for help as he was being killed – but I didn’t have words. And I’ve felt a lot of things as I’ve seen photographs of protests and riots sparking across the country – but I didn’t have words for that either.

I’ve wondered what to say in light of all this and the honest answer is this: I don’t know. There’s so much to say and I’m not sure how to say it, so I haven’t said much of anything. I’m still short on words but, as I’ve sat with this, I’ve come up with one: Love.

Love is a common word in the Bible and it flows frequently from the lips of our Savior. John 13:34-35 tells us what Jesus taught his disciples about love:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

A welcome sign tells visitors they’ve arrived in Charlottesville; love tells them they’ve met a Christian. Love is an essential mark of following Jesus because God has loved us with a humble and sacrificial love. Love took Jesus to the cross. That’s the kind of love that changes us and leads us to love other people.

I don’t know how we solve all the problems of bias and racism that just won’t seem to go away. I don’t know how we fix all these broken systems. I don’t know how we end the violence. If you’re looking for those words, you’ll have to look somewhere else. I still don’t have them.

But I do know this. Behind every headline stands real people. Current events aren’t abstractions. They all involve flesh and blood people that God made in his image. Odds are someone you know is hurting today. They feel vulnerable, angry, betrayed, fearful, or anything else in a whole range of messy and complicated emotions. You can make a difference to that person. You can listen patiently to them. A good listener is a precious jewel. You can remind them of their dignity and worth. Sometimes we need to hear that out loud. You can reach out and love them like Jesus has loved you. That’s what Christians do.

Church, go out of your way to love someone today. Be intentional. Make the extra effort. Your neighbors need it.