On my mind this morning. The word TRUTH is haunting me this morning. My sons normal bedtime on a school night is 9 p.m. Last night, my wife and I let him stay up with us to watch the Prosecutors statement being made in Missouri. We turned off the television before all the experts told us what to think. Instead, we talked as a family. Our conversation was about the way we wished our country was, and how it really is too many times. This is especially true when it comes to issues of race. We are not racism free, as the blind of heart would claim. This requires us to hear the truth about what darkens the human heart. In every person, there lies a fear of a certain type of person. This fear too often is expressed by diminishing that person and seeing him or her as less than human. We are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves. This fear becomes the filter through which we see the world, and determines how we act. There is fear and hatred of people of other races. There is fear and hatred of police officers. The moment those two fears come together, the chances of violating one another increase dramatically. Even one death from that moment is one too many. My wife and I talked with our bi-racial son about the risks he faces in his life because of his race. He has already experienced the pain of being diminished because of his race. In the conversation, my son made this statement. It broke my heart. He said, I wish I was white. Good Lord, NO! Racism wins when it leads to that conclusion. Making everyone white, or like those who are white, is NOT solving anything. It overlooks the truth. It allows sin to reign in our lives. It allows the darkness--in which evil thrives--to invade the world. This morning, young black men--the majority of whom want to do what is right--will leave their homes, angry and fearful, because life has taught them that lesson well. They will wonder if they will come home alive tonight. This morning, police officers--the majority of whom want to do what is right--will leave their homes filled with fear, because human brokenness has taught them that lesson well. They will wonder if they will come home alive tonight. What will the rest of us do today? Will we engage in acts and speeches of self-righteousness, blaming any scapegoat we can find, making someone else the enemy who just doesnt get it? OR, Will we hear the truth? You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. I pray for truth today--a truth spoken and heard in love--that softens hearts turned to stone and inflames those hearts to a courage that says no to the power of evil expressed in racism. Blessings. Pastor Tim
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 12:25:38 +0000
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