When I saw the images of George Floyd laying on the ground with that officer’s knee driving him into the pavement, I thought I was going to be sick. There was a clear cry of desperation on George’s face. There also seemed to be a hazy disconnect on Dennis Chauvin’s face, almost like he was waiting on the bus to come or for his lunch to heat up in the microwave. His knee was on Floyd’s throat while his hand was in his pocket. To witness this act was paralyzing. I have spent days trying to prayerfully discern what to say or where to begin.
George Floyd’s death - the absolute tragedy and senselessness of it - is enough to infuriate anyone with decency. But the fact that George Floyd is a black man and that Dennis Chauvin is a white police officer turns this house fire into a blazing inferno. The problem with this blaze is that it’s flames are being strengthened by more than one source of fuel. To put out a fire you often need to know what started it and what’s fueling it.
Let’s identify some of the sources of this firestorm here in America.
- Whether you accept it or believe it or not, racism still exists here.
- Police brutality appears to continue to go unchecked.
- Discrimination is now harder to identify because it’s shrouded in political correctness.
- A sense of entitlement and a lack of respect for authority are not only being fostered, but affirmed & rewarded.
- People with agendas manipulate, hijack, politicize, and capitalize on any and every opportunity to kick the embers, pour on more fuel, and keep the fire going.
And there’s a common thread to all these problems and issues we face: PRIDE & SIN.
We have to be clear about this: SIN is the source of racism. SIN is the source of abuse. SIN is the source of entitlement. And SIN is the source of the spirit that attempts to cover over these things as well.
And so...we have issues. BIG issues.
The question is, “What are we to do?”
There is so much to be said and done. As Christians, I know many of us wonder, “What can I do?” At this moment I find myself asking the Lord - and my brothers in Christ - to help me understand.
As followers of Jesus, there are some fundamental truths that must guide us in finding the answers to these questions and to extinguish this fire.
First of all, we need to understand racism. I highly recommend you listen to or read this sermon that Voddie Bauchum preached last year, Irreconcilible Views of Reconciliation. As usual, his insight and exposition are worth consideration. To expound on what Voddie says, God did not invent or create races; we did. Ethnicities? Yes. Nationalities? Of course. But races? No.
As Voddie explains, “Oftentimes we talk about distinctions and we talk about being distinct from one another in terms of our race. Race is actually a social construct. The concept of race is not a biblical concept, it’s not a biblical idea, it is a constructed idea. You won’t find the idea of races in the Bible unless you find it in the proper historical context where we see, number one, that we are all the race of Adam. Amen? One race, one blood. We are all the race of Adam. There is less than a 0.2 percent genetic difference between any of us in this regard.” He continues. "In fact, we’re not even different colors. Amen. Technically, from a genetic perspective, from a biochemistry perspective, we’re all actually the same color. Our color comes from our melanin. We’ve all got melanin, just at differing degrees. So it’s not that some of us are this color, some of this are that color. No, we’re just different shades of the same color; some of us just have more melanin than others. And I want you to listen to me on this, listen to me! Just because you don’t have as much melanin as I do, don’t you dare think God doesn’t love you as much as He loves me because He gave me more. You learn to be satisfied with the little you have.”
The point: the only noticeable difference between me and my black friends is our skin. That’s it.
To continue on Voddie’s point, the actual biblical distinction that the Bible not only acknowledges, but the Lord actually instituted, is Jew and Gentile. And all you Gentiles (like myself) were in a world of hurt. We weren’t covenant people. I wasn’t in the line of Abraham. At least not by blood. I was dead in sin and separated from God. But…
That word seems to be interjected at just the right moments. Especially in Paul’s letters.
In Ephesians 2, after Paul reminds us that we were dead in our trespasses and sins, he says, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love…made us alive in Christ.” From death to life. That’s the part of Ephesians 2 we all know. We really should keep reading more often. Let’s go a bit further.
In verse 11 Paul now moves into reminding them that as Gentiles they were “separated from Christ…strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” Well, that’s not good. Not good at all. But….
There it is again. But...
“But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.” (Italics mine)
Jesus divides the wall of hostility between us. Jesus kills the hostility between us!
Now back to Voddie for a moment.
"There are different cultural distinctions among us and other things that distinguish us: our languages and things of this nature. But that’s different than saying we have real legitimate things that separate us. Why is this important? Because if the things that we believe separate us are made up and we see in this text that a real separation that God created is overcome by the blood of Christ; if the blood of Jesus can obliterate a real distinction that God Himself created, then how much more can it get rid of artificial distinctions that fallen men created.”
Friends, allow me to get to the point.
There is NO PLACE FOR RACISM in the Body of Christ or the Kingdom of God.
But also know this: THE CURE FOR RACISM is found at the Cross of Jesus. The gospel doesn’t just demand reconciliation; the gospel is the reconciler. The Apostle Paul very clearly tells us that Jesus not only died for our salvation, but for our reconciliation. We are not only reconciled back to the Father, we are reconciled to one another. And through the power of the Spirit of God, we are now ministers of reconciliation.
I repeat: WE ARE MINISTERS OF RECONCILIATION.
Reconciliation takes work. It’s hard. It’s humbling. It empties us of ourselves. It’s what Jesus did.
"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:5-8
When you think and feel that everything seems hopelessly out of control, always remember: But God...
We were dead in our sin. But God...
We were divided and separated. But God...
I close with words that my friend Johnny posted today. I believe they are humble, practical, straightforward, and speak to the heart of the humility we need in this crucial moment.
"I’m reading all the posts and comments. Listening to the president and the politicians and the news media. Everyone - at every level - is saying the exact same things, word for word for word, that were said 55 years ago. It’s just in real time and with multimedia. All I can say is: Look at history. Immerse yourself in it. We’ve been here before. And we are doing and feeling and saying the exact same things that did not work then. And because we didn’t resolve it then, we’re reliving it now. Everyone on all sides cannot get entrenched in fear and pain. Survival mode will not end well for any of us. We have to have creative solutions, new responses, and greater wisdom this time. We have the ability to communicate instantly with everyone we know, anywhere. We don’t have to huddle in a foxhole with a handful of people who look like us and ride it out. I’m not talking about posting memes and quotes. Have you not noticed most of the people who like your posts already agree with you and everyone else is silent? I’m saying reach out...to your friends who don’t look like you. Today. Don’t preach. Don’t scold. Don’t drop hints. Don’t generalize. Just listen and talk about your feelings, not other’s faults. Pray with them. Look at this as a second chance. We got a do-over. Do. It. Different. This. Time. Where our forebears zigged, we must zag. It is utterly imperative that we do. I cannot stress that enough."
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