Final answer:
The Christian's love for the Prince of Peace puts them out of step with societal divisions and hatred, advocating for peace and universal love. However, there has historically been a gap between professing Christian love and actual behavior that contradicts the message of love and peace. Reconciling this requires practicing the love and teachings of Jesus Christ in actionable ways.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Christian's love for the Prince of Peace puts them out of step with societal tendencies that fuel division, hatred, and discrimination. This is because the essence of Christian love, as mandated in the teachings of Jesus Christ, particularly in the 'Sermon on the Mount' (Matthew 5), advocates for peace, righteousness, and a universal love that transcends racial, ethnic, and social divides. Engaging in love and empathy as Christ taught should compel Christians to stand against the fearmongering and xenophobia that can be perpetuated by politics and media narratives. Moreover, the Christian's love is a powerful force that can change hearts and attitudes, promoting equality and justice as foundation values in society.
In practice, however, Christians may sometimes find themselves aligning with or being passive to ideologies that are contrary to the message of love and peace. Historical and contemporary accounts show that professing Christians have sometimes ignored 'the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith' in favor of perpetuating systemic injustices. 1 John 4:20-21 reminds Christians that to truly love God means to also love one's neighbor visible to them. This dissonance between the claim of Christian love and actions that contradict it creates a gap that those inside and outside the church struggle to reconcile.