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"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters."
1 John 3:16
I assume the best in everyone. Because of this, I find it really difficult to harbour a grudge against anyone. Often times this leads to a lot of pain and confusion. If you're anyone like me, the situation in our world today must be immensely overwhelming. Seeing evil in the world yet not knowing how to respond or what action to take can be really frustrating. Most recently, we witnessed the deaths of George Floyd and Ahmad Arbery, deaths that shouldn't have happened. These incidents exposed some of the deepest darkness and sins present in our society. Amidst a global pandemic, systematic racism has been and still is an issue in North America right now. For the longest time, I struggled with coming to grips on how I felt or how I should respond to periods of immense oppression. I was naive. I still am. My tendency is to avoid conflict rather than face it head-on. I never know how to respond or what to say. Is there even a right thing to say? I was, until very recently, under-uneducated on the experiences of black people in North America. Since it seemed as though I was seemingly unaffected, I rarely took action to plead the cause of those who were suffering around me. The best I could say was that both the hurting and those who hurt them were in need of a healer and a Saviour. That was true then. It still is true now.
Whenever something big and immensely painful happens in the world, I tend to hide. That's what I've done until this very moment. What does that say about me as a believer? What does this say about the one I believe? Hiding has never been the answer. Hiding wasn't God's solution for a dying and suffering world. The Bible offers more than enough instances where God specifically instructs His people to plead the cause of the poor, the weak, and the oppressed– but do we obey? Just because racism feels relatively foreign to me, does not exempt me from pleading the cause of those who are hurt by it around me. We tend to assume the best in people, including the wicked. That does not exempt us from pleading the cause of the oppressed. Our Saviour is a suffering Messiah. He was not afraid of the complications and nuances of brokenness. In fact, he was broken on behalf of the unrighteous and the self-righteous. I, therefore, plead with you; let's imitate Christ and plead the cause of those around us who lack the strength or voice to plead their own cause.
What can we do? Pray, and pray again. Pray for those who are hurting. Pray for George Floyd’s family and Ahmad Arbery’s family. Pray for the families of all the black people who have been oppressed by structures in a society that often have under-valued and mistreated them. Pray for minorities and the marginalized. Speak up for them. Pray for those who hurt them, recalling that the Lord came to die for them too. Pray for forgiveness. And for transformation. That God would give us compassionate hearts that love and care for those who are suffering around us, regardless of race or ethnicity. Read your Bible. Listen keenly to the Lord. He has a lot to say concerning justice and what it means to care for the needy. And hurt with those who hurt too. There is more we can do and I hope and pray that this is only a catalyst. I was un-informed, I still am. For me, this marks a first step in seeking to understand, care for, and to defend others. This creates an opportunity for us to start having conversations we need to have; to re-evaluate our role in justice, equality, redemption, and restoration. But let's not put our hopes in this perishing world, lest we lose sight of the bigger picture. Although our world is broken with sin and plagued with injustice, we have hope that Jesus will come again to restore the world to how He intends it to be. We must eagerly look forward to His Second Coming when He will bring true, perfect justice once and for all.
Grace and Peace.
"Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause" Isaiah 1:17
Please read Isaiah 58
Please read 1 John 3:15-16
Please listen to “Worth It” by Lecrae, Kierra Sheard & Jawan Harris (or just listen to the entire album. It talks about pain and fighting for each other)
Hear a former Pastor share on racism, racial privilege and why he runs with Arbery in an interview here. (p.s. he rocks a really cool tee)
Thanks for openly sharing. I too understand the feeling of being disconnected from this issue, even though I'm a black girl from the Caribbean, I never truly experienced racism much. There were a few mean words thrown here and there, I did feel lonely in a white dominant school environment, and when I was young I was terrified of the police. But after moving at a young age to Canada, You can say I'm more of a White Canadian than anything. Thus I feel disconnected. Regardless I hope the world, mostly North America clean up their act, and that Christians join in the fight as well. For this issue has been going on for far too long, that the list of…