Church, the Nation Needs You Now More Than Ever!
"Reconciliation means working together to correct the legacy of past injustice." —Nelson Mandela
The nations stand, again on the brink of another period of protests and demonstrations. Charlottesville and now a guilty verdict by a jury in Chicago convicting a police officer of second-degree murder still does not feel like justice. So many shootings, so much wrongdoing, every incident of another shooting of an African American male sends an already racially charged city sitting on a powder keg with a match lit and bracing to set the place on fire anew. What can the congregation and should we do? What can we do? The church can do what only we know how to do, preach and teach about reconciliation.
Below are some steps in this process to begin the process. I am approaching this with the idea that truly only God can heal this problem; it is, of course, beyond human problem-solving abilities.
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1) Admit we each are part of the problem.
In this race relations issues, it seems that no one wants to come out and admit any culpability. Neither side wants to budge. Neither side wants to accept they each carry some level of responsibility. The rhetoric and divisive attitudes that continue to make matters more toxic and volatile. Until both sides are willing to admit they are part of the problem, no real healing is possible.
This quote says it so clearly. "You have a choice. You can either focus on what's tearing us apart or what's holding us together." The talk we hear so often only continues to rip us apart. The church has the opportunity to preach love where there is hate and draw all people to the foot of the cross where we all stand the same as sinners in need of God's grace.
2) We need to come to a truce.
At some point for this issue of race to improve we have to call for an end to the fighting. We have to stop seeing the other side as the evil villain that we are bent on defeating. The only way that happens is realizing that what is keeping us apart is sin. Sin is causing the bitterness and hatred. The effects of sin are growing and breeding between blacks and whites. The only thing that can defeat sin is God's love. Gwen Smith said so beautifully. "When we allow God's love to trump our anger, we can experience restoration in relationships."
3) We need to be willing to fight for the relationship.
Relationships can feel like climbing Mount Everest, especially the difficult ones. Relationships can feel like the mountain where you can never seem to reach the summit. That usually means the systems you're using aren't working.
It's okay to fall. It's okay to make mistakes and even be dead wrong. You will get mad. Relationships will cause you frustration. Heck, we are human, and as humans, we struggle with maintaining healthy relationships. But does that mean that we should never be in a relationship? Or does it say we keep fighting for relationships because we would die without them? The racial divide needs the chance to heal. It's not an option. But the church needs to take the lead. It will be painful. It's exhausting, and it's humbling, but we have to work together to solve this. It is too important not too.
