A Kingdom Response To Racism
A Kingdom response to Racism
John 14:6 (NIV)
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
1. The Way
As a young boy, I heard the loud noise of sirens pull up outside my house, rushing to the window I fix my gaze on a fire engine and a group of firemen who had gathered across the street at my neighbour’s house. They raised their ladders to grab hold of two flaying legs belonging to a little boy dressed as batman painfully screaming while hanging from the guttering. Strangely, this image popped into my head as I considered writing this blog concerning George Floyd and Racism in our society.
Why? I hear this inner voice saying, “what if everything our Father wanted us to know about Him, is hidden in the hearts of children” What if the analogous practice of kids around the world playing their games of make-believe dressing up as doctors, nurses, princesses, firemen and superheroes like batman and believing it so much they would attempt to fly out of their bedroom window, is simply a lesson in how to walk in someone’s else's shoes.
It’s no coincidence that this is exactly what God’s son Jesus did. He divested himself of the “privileges of his deity and took on the status of a slave” he took off his glorious ‘skin’ put on my humanity so he could fight my cause.
Philippians 2:7 (NIV)
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
To save me, he lived and died as me (Romans 3:21-31). This is what it looks to lay down your life for a friend. You lay aside your privileges, you put on their skin and believe it so much that you’ll stand, cry, or indeed leap out of a window to fight the cause to save them. When asked who would be the greatest in the kingdom Jesus’ response was “you must become like a little child (Matthew 18:2-5).
Children see friends first and love colour!
2. The Truth
The whole truth ‘PLEASE’ help me God. Justice is one of the major themes on Gods heart. From the blood of Abel the first murder (Genesis 4) to present day the cry of our hearts is that ‘God will give us justice’. It is well documented around the world that fighting your own legal case leaves you susceptible to prioritising your emotional wounds and experiences. So we spend money on the best advocates who will insist on knowing all the facts required to fully represent us.
The Black community have been pleading our own case for centuries in the courts of public opinion, by defending ourselves here we are continually placed in a poor man’s position. Our legal fees have been paid with the blood of Dr Martin Luther King, by George Floyd and many, many others. It’s time now for the best advocates, to speak up for us because it’s only when you fully understand the facts and speak our truth that we can receive justice and ultimately equality.
Jesus as the ultimate advocate speaks for us in heaven (1John 2:4). He wants you, we need you to speak for us on earth, so his kingdom will come as “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends” Dr Martin Luther King.
3. The Life
The life of Jesus embodies the light for us all to live by.
John 1:4 (NIV)
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
This light is synonymous with the revelation of truth is consistently being revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. His goal is to flood our whole body with the light of truth, change the way we think then transform the way we live.
God had to address Peters prejudices before he could speak to the gentiles. There were things about the gentiles Peter was ignorant of. Did Jesus lay down his life and die for them too? So the Holy Spirit used a vision to patiently walk Peter through a visual image, so he could see and accept all those who were not Jews like him. Peter made a conscious decision to change they way he was thinking. This was his moment of repentance (Acts 10).
A decision to change your mind and think differently in response to the revelation of truth is the definition of repentance. Our mindset is naturally hostile to the absolute supremacy of God, so by renewing the way you think and developing a culture of repentance transforms you to be more like Jesus. (Romans 12:1-2)
Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Lights-camera-action
“Lights-camera-action..” the familiar words of a director capturing a scene, had the Iphone been around in the 1970’s I could have captured the little batman hanging from the gutter and his rescue by the heroic firemen.
I believe the most powerful role of every film director like the Holy Spirit is to bring light to help us see truth. Now everyday everywhere iPhones are playing the role of Peters vision speaking in every tongue. The power of this viral language sounds like the rushing wind of Pentecost to me (Acts 2). What once happened in the dark is now brought into the light so that the words from John Newtons song ... “ blind but now I see” has a whole new meaning.
We can choose to see the videos of George Floyd and others, cry while eating our popcorn and then do nothing or, we can be transformed by a change of mind, to change our lives, and change our world.