May you face opposition in your life.
In fact, may you be hated –
and may you be hated by all the right people
and for all the right reasons.
Not because you were unkind or unjust,
but because you loved too boldly,
spoke too honestly,
stood too firmly with the vulnerable,
and refused to look away from injustice.
May your life stir up resistance –
the kind that comes when you refuse to stay silent
while others are silenced,
when you stand up
even when it would be easier to sit down,
when you carry hope
into places that have forgotten what hope feels like.
May you be known not for how well you fit in,
but for how deeply you reflect the love of Christ.
Not for the titles you’ve earned,
but for the tables you’ve flipped.
Not for the crowds you’ve pleased,
but for the bridges you’ve built
between the powerful and the powerless,
the seen and the unseen.
And when that opposition comes –
when the testing arrives, as it surely will –
may you find courage,
may you find peace,
and may you be delivered.
In the name of Jesus, the name of love. Amen.
