I think that now more than ever I am encouraged to be a Christian who speaks out against the American church, advocating racial reconciliation. My heart is continually burdened because of the sore spots I get when the CHAT kids are around white kids at church. I feel as though progress is slow process. However, I want to be more like Jesus when he served people. My attitude toward white people specifically in Richmond has been ever-changing. I want to love everyone the way the Bible says, but when I don’t feel acknowledged or even receive eye contact from white people, it is a painful experience which can diminish my desire to reach out to anyone.
In spite of that feeling, I believe Christ taught us that’s when it is most important to love people. What has been tough for me is accepting that there are some people out there who don’t agree with that and the temptation to judge people is present as well. It’s almost as if I expect certain white people to have a certain attitude toward me and black people in general, unless they have some kind of credibility of understanding blacks. I just hope and pray that God will help me to remove this spirit of affliction from me and this generation. If I can keep it real, I almost want to feel as though white people owe me some attempt at a relationship, or in other words to be the person who “says hello first.” However I notice that is not only the wrong attitude, it just simply is not going to happen and holding on to that will continue to damage relationships.
What I have been learning over the past few months has been incredibly insightful. I remember watching a pastor on TV, Fred Price (Ever Increasing Faith), and he made a thoughtful analogy. Though most of his congregation is black, he acknowledged the dilemma between the black church and the white church, and even criticized the lack of invitation of white brothers and sisters. He stated not in exact words that if Jesus came back and told the people to separate with the blacks on the western part of the world, the whites on the eastern side of the world, and the Christians on the northern part of the world, where would you go? I finally understood that even though God doesn’t what to change who you are, because it’s special to Him, he still doesn’t want who you are to separate you from other people or be a barrier to loving them. When you believe that, your heart can’t help but want to reach out. The history of this world is important to understand, but it still has such a strong hindrance on how we approach today’s diverse culture. From cultural to sexual orientation, no one is exempt from God’s love.
Shad
