CT: You know, the best thing that I can think of, Richard, is when one just literally let himself or herself bathe in the knowledge of God’s love, to really get to understand who God really is. And now who we want Him to be, but who He really is. And let Him really come into our lives. We began to see the beauty of His creation. We began to understand that He has placed a bit of himself in every living, breathing creature. And when we embrace brothers and sisters who may not look like us, what we are really doing, we are embracing the best of what God has made. And that’s the unity that David was talking about. It’s just like a precious ointment. And satan has no desire for us experience that precious ointment. But I think we have the opportunity to do so.
RR: He doesn’t want us to get along, Lindsay. He wants us to be in disharmony. He wants us to be in strife. He wants us to hate one another.
LR: Well, again, remember what I said last night when Jesus said, “My peace I leave you, my peace I give you”? That word peace translates oneness and wholeness. He left us whole, He left us His oneness, His wholeness. But many times we don’t even know it’s there. And I know coming from Oral Roberts University, you know, we all look back on our lives and say, “How did we get here from where we were?” And you came in banking, you worked at University Village.
RR: Out of the military.
LR: out of the military, and now you’re up for a Pulitzer prize. Your book that you birthed kind of at ORU was made into a movie, and instead of walking around thinking that you’ve made it to the top, you’re reaching down to serve. What an example of Jesus Christ.
CT: I mean, that’s the requirement that God places on all of our lives. How can we take these gifts that He gives us and share them with the world, whether one writes, sings, ministers, or whatever? Those are His gifts, they’re not ours.
LR: The bottom line is to share it with each other.
CT: To share it.
RR: Cliff, you could have chosen you could have made a decision in your mind that you were not ever going to get over what you went through in your youth. You could have decided, “I’m going to strike back. I’m going to write, but I’m going to write a message of hatred, of violence, of unrest.” But instead you chose a message of peace and healing. And I want to ask you to do something tonight. I want to ask you to pray because there are many people in this country who are hurting tonight over something that happened to them in some relation. And I want to ask you if you’ll just pray and just open your heart as the Lord leads and pray over the needs of the people.
CT: You know, Richard, the Bible says, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” And I want to write peace because when we find peace, we can find a way to maneuver through many of the things that come into our lives. And as a writer, I’ve been able to travel places that I never dreamed I’d go, but I’ve been able to take, hopefully, the peace of God with me. And I want my brothers and sisters, no matter where they are, to understand that peace is a gift, that God gives a gift to be shared. And I would welcome the opportunity to pray that they would know that
RR: Please do, Cliff.
CT: Lord, we thank You for every person that You have given life to, that You have given the opportunity to face twenty-fours that they have never seen before. We thank You that You have given us ideals that we can practice in our daily lives. We thank You that You’ve given us the ability to live beyond racism, to live beyond hatred, as we find ourselves walking into Your kingdom and into Your love. But any person, Lord, who does not understand just where they fit in the kingdom, help them this night to know that Your love is sufficient, totally capable of moving mountains and giving peace. Give them peace, Lord, that passes all understanding. In Your name we pray, amen.