GOOD GRACE (Personal Reflection)

People

Come together

Strange as neighbors

Our blood is one

Children

Of generations

Of every nation

Of kingdom come

Don’t let your heart be troubled

Hold your head up high

Don’t fear no evil

Fix your eyes upon this one truth

God is madly in love with you

Take courage

Hold on

Be strong

Remember where our help comes from

Jesus

Our redemption

Our salvation

Is in His blood

Jesus

Light of heaven

Friend forever

His kingdom come

Swing wide

All you heavens

Let the praise go up

As the walls come down

All creation

Everything with breath

Repeat the sound

All His children

Clean hands

Pure hearts

Good grace

Good God

His Name is Jesus

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In the wake of protests in the United States concerning racism in the aftermath of George Floyd's death, many rallying cries have enveloped our nation but none more so than "Black Lives Matter." As a white, adult male, I've wrestled with what that message means to me personally and, more importantly, sought to understand from Scripture what God has to say both directly and indirectly related to the issue at hand, as well as how I should respond. In today's age, it is easy to become swept up by media coverage/bias on a particular issue and defensive toward embracing the fact that we ALL have much to learn about personal heart change and loving one another from God's perspective. Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34–35). What then does that mean? One of the more spirited discussions around "Black Lives Matter" is the argument that "ALL Lives Matter." In other words, shouldn't we give equal care, consideration and attention to all races and the injustices facing mankind universally? However, by offering that perspective, proponents argue we are minimizing racial injustice and suppressing the black community further by shifting focus off their legitimate, specific concerns and onto a more all-inclusive discussion. The challenge is that the moment we focus attention in one direction, an assumption is made that our lack of attention in other directions indirectly communicates a lack of concern regarding their importance. Nonetheless, pivoting toward acknowledgement of "Black Lives Matter" does not necessarily constitute that "ALL Lives DO NOT Matter." Rather, focusing our love and attention toward the racial injustices of our fellow man/woman, whether black, brown or white, is an all-encompassing message of love and support which should be our primary, battle cry as we serve one another in the body of Christ. "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another" (Galatians 5:13–15).

"People come together, strange as neighbors, our blood is one—children of generations, of every nation, of kingdom come." At a time when Jews faced impending genocide, Mordecai sent word to his cousin, Queen Esther, pleading for her support and holding her accountable before God to love, serve and protect their people. "Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:13–14). Because Esther held position and favor in the King's eyes, her message was allowed to be heard, and inevitably her courage to speak up despite the risk of potential persecution and death led to the preservation of her people in the midst of impending evil and unfathomable injustice. Therefore, we can learn from Esther's example and come together on the issue of racism impacting our country today, utilizing the authority of our respective position in today's culture and speaking on behalf of our brothers and sisters of color to exact positive change consistent with Scripture's teachings. That is why I chose, "Good Grace," by Hillsong United, as the song of inspiration for this personal reflection, because it encourages us to come together and recognize we are all made in the image of God and equal in our standing before Him on judgment day. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). That is a powerful distinction of truth we must recognize as followers of Christ. For though we are sons of Adam in the flesh, we are also sinful enemies of God destined to eternal hell and torment unless we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives. Therefore, while there is no distinction in the kingdom of heaven concerning race, nationality or gender as equal heirs to the gift of eternity, there is one specific distinction (the choice of salvation) which separates those who ultimately reside in heaven from those who choose self-preservation or false religion as their eternal sufficiency. While some may rile at the notion of God sentencing ANY human being to eternal damnation, the Bible is clear that we ALL have ample and equal opportunity to choose our eternal fate and accept grace by faith through Christ, or reject God's eternal provision for mankind and suffer the consequences. "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'" (John 14:6).

"Don’t let your heart be troubled. Hold your head up high. Don’t fear no evil. Fix your eyes upon this one truth: God is madly in love with you. Take courage. Hold on. Be strong. Remember where our help comes from." If there is one thing I've been reminded of amid the outcry of racial injustice these past few weeks, it is that our enemy is ultimately not of flesh and blood, but spirit. Therefore, "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:11–12). Satan is the author of all lies and deception, and through evil men across our world throughout the history of time, he has inspired horrific and unimaginable atrocities toward mankind for no justifiable reason whatsoever. However, while it is easy to judge evil men of power and authority such as Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin, Genghis Kahn, Nero, etc., who authorized the execution of millions of innocent people for personal pleasure/agenda, it is another reality altogether when we witness evil deeds before our very eyes, as is the case regarding George Floyd on May 25, 2020. I dare say no one who watched the video of his arrest and subsequent murder were not outraged by the evil which took place and the nonchalant and inhumane manner in which it occurred. However, we must be careful to distinguish who is ultimately at fault and not label or judge others based on association to the detriment of law enforcement universal. "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Satan would tempt us to believe our enemy does not share our same skin color, possess the same power or authority under law, identify as the same gender or sexual orientation, maintain the same economic status, adhere to the same political ideologies, etc. However, we cannot lose sight that our focus as followers of Christ should be centered on good vs. evil, by loving those who would seek to do us harm and forgiving those who have sinned against us. That does not negate or disqualify the need and necessity for justice and systematic change in our world to ensure the safety and equitable treatment of every man, woman, child, and unborn baby, but it helps us remember who our true enemy is (Satan) and who alone (God) is our source of strength in times of need. For only God is sovereign, not man. "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand" (Proverbs 19:21).

"Jesus, our redemption, our salvation is in His blood. Jesus, light of heaven, friend forever, His kingdom come." Undoubtedly, the only way we transform our communities, nation and world universal is through the saving power of Jesus Christ. Scripture teaches, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:15–17). There is much minutia in our culture today which sways our heart's affection from our Creator to the created and tempts us to assume a particular race, ethnicity or people group are to blame when an atrocity occurs, even though evil resides in the heart of every human being. Therefore, it is imperative we heed the words of Scripture as our moral compass in times of confusion to avoid losing focus on what God prioritizes. "You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire" (Matthew 5:21–22). In other words, no man or woman is exempt from God's judgment. For spiritual-speaking, we likely have ALL committed murder in the eyes of God at some point, if not frequently. However, we are supernaturally equipped to love our neighbors as ourselves when we embrace God's love through the power of the Holy Spirit, enabled by saving grace through Christ's death, burial and resurrection. "By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:16–18). Therefore, we must stand boldly in the face of oppression with our brothers and sisters in Christ and peacefully protest injustice to inspire change in our world because we love one another enough to bear one another's burdens. However, our endeavors are fruitless and devoid of value if we have not recognized the depravity of sin in our hearts first and foremost, and reconciled our lives to God in submission to Christ and obedience to His Word. 

"Swing wide all you heavens, let the praise go up as the walls come down. All creation, everything with breath repeat the sound. All His children: Clean hands, pure hearts, good grace, good God. His Name is Jesus." Again, let us be clear in the aftermath of recent protests that, ultimately, our enemy is not the government or law enforcement as some would have us believe. Without question, there are good and righteous police officers, military personnel, and even politicians holding positions of authority in our communities across the globe who are worthy of our respect, and deserve appreciation and support for their genuine efforts to serve, protect, defend, and eradicate injustices in our world according to God's Word. However, there are those who use their power and position for evil purposes and oppress equality and dignity of life, which is unfortunately the case in George Floyd's murder. Therefore, we must examine our hearts and minds BEFORE engaging the culture to measure where we truly stand on cultural/political issues, and then filter them through the pages of Scripture to gauge whose authority is sovereign in our lives as we seek for justice and positive change in our communities. "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!" (Psalm 139:23–24). For instance, are we equally as passionate about eradicating police brutality against minorities as we are abolishing abortion? Are we equally concerned about quenching starvation and world hunger as we are promoting equality of women in the workplace? Are we equally supportive of military personnel who sacrifice their lives to protect our freedoms as we are gender identity and sexual orientation of our citizens? The pages of Scripture have much to say on all of these issues (and countless others), and God expects His followers to be spiritual mature in the knowledge and application of His absolute truth "so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love" (Ephesians 4:14–16). If we are to fulfill our purpose as the body of Christ, we must guard ourselves from being swept away by the rip current of social/political agendas which may not be aligned with Scripture. Therefore, we must take our faith seriously enough to know what God is passionate about before we act in accordance with our flesh, which wages war against the Spirit of God within us. Bottom-line, our power to enact positive change in this world is only hindered by our ignorance of what God's Word teaches, and our unwillingness to stand upon its pillars of absolute truth regardless of trials and persecution.

In the end, reconciliation begins with the power to forgive. In the wake of the West Nickel Mines School shooting in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on October 2, 2006, where 10 Amish children were shot, 5 of which killed at the hands of an outsider to their community who inevitably committed suicide, members of the Amish Brethren community immediately went to the appalled and grieving family of the shooter not only to forgive, but console them. Their actions gripped the nation because it was extraordinary and unparalleled. Rather than demand justice for the crime committed against them, they instead entrusted themselves to God and the promises of Holy Scripture by embracing forgiveness before allowing their flesh to cloud their judgment. "Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.' To the contrary, 'if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:19–21). Unfortunately, such spiritual maturity is uncommon in our world today. Often, people seek retribution for personal agendas which, at times, are not even related to the issue at hand before considering the consequences of their actions, hence the widespread rioting, violence and looting accompanying the racial protests across our nation currently. Nonetheless, there are indeed changes which must take place across our country and the world at large to ensure equality, freedom and sanctity of life for all mankind (including the unborn), but we cannot lose sight that true, lasting change begins in the human heart. Scripture declares, "'Yet even now,' declares the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.' Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster" (Joel 2:12–13). If Christ is not our all-encompassing sufficiency in the pursuit of righteousness and godliness, we will be powerless to defeat the forces of evil in this world. Therefore, may we come together as one voice in complete submission to God's authority and obedience to His Word, so that in good conscience we can offer ourselves with clean hands and pure hearts to the Lord to fulfill His sovereign purpose in our world. "Pray then like this: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.' For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:9–15).

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