The divisiveness and fragmentation in our country today can only bruise the heart of Him in whose image we are made. He is not the Father of a certain nation, tribe or family—He is the Father of us all. To recognize anything less is bad theology and it leads to even worse biography. While we can’t all agree on everything (and that’s not necessarily a bad thing), we can and should agree on some things.
Hatred and violence are always inexcusable. Whether it comes from a white supremacist group, an entertainer who speaks of blowing up the White House, a politician who says they hope the president will be assassinated or anywhere else—it’s all toxic and part of the problem rather than being part of the solution. Jesus said the one who lives by the sword will die by the sword.
Looking at people through race-tinted glasses is unacceptable and polarizing. In the end, people are people. We’ve been so intense about pointing out our diversity that we’ve forgotten about what unites us. We are all in this together so the never-ending finger pointing that characterizes many not only doesn’t heal the wounds we have—it exacerbates and infects them. The current climate reminds me of when our children were young and we were headed off on a trip somewhere. After a smooth start, things unraveled and they all became quite testy toward each other—to the point that they established boundaries in the vehicle so that each of them had their own sovereign kingdom which the others could not have any of their body parts touching or any of their stuff in. Well, that solved everything for all of about five seconds until one of them whined. “What’s the problem?” we asked. “They are looking in my area!”
No peace is possible when we are hypersensitive to the point that we want to micro-manage everything about everybody. Instead, we need to realize that we are all traveling down the road of life not as the white race, the black race, the Hispanic race, or the Asian race, but as the human race.
The kingdom of man is not the answer; the kingdom of God is. At its very best, the kingdom of man can get people to conform outwardly, but the kingdom of God will lead them to be transformed inwardly. The world will continue to look for solutions from this politician or that party, but we know the answer is from our Father. The world doesn’t just need to hear about it—they need to see it in the body of Christ.
“By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). “I pray for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one . . . so that the world will believe that You have sent Me” (17:20-21). Maintaining the unity of the Spirit is an important part of the mission of God’s people!
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 