2 Corinthians 6:18 NLT
[18] And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty. “
We are all made in the image of God. God’s remnant is only carried from generation to generation through His followers in all nationalities. All of us are indispensable. God’s sons and daughters are all one body living on this planet in the great pilgrimage to our eternal reward.
Black lives matter, as well as white, yellow or brown. We all matter! God loves all of us and does not show favoritism. We are all his prized possession. He knows our deepest fears, our worries and thoughts. He knows how many hairs are on our head. He rejoices over us with singing. None of us have the right to spew hatred and racism toward another child of God.
Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV
[17] The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
True Leadership Is Needed
It starts with you and me. We can’t make change unless we become the change. We have to love our fellow brothers and sisters in this world through the lens of God. He loves all of us equally. He created us all equally. We all have favor with Him as His sons and daughters.
This melting pot, called America, is a land made up of many cultures. We have a unique opportunity to learn the cultures of the world without leaving our American soil. By embracing multiple cultures and learning about the history of other ethnicities, we can begin to understand life from another perspective. We are all just “trying to make it” in this world. Together, helping one another, gives us all a better chance. Let’s never tire of doing good for others.
Think about the people you might see every day and just pass them by or those behind the scenes that you don’t see — the garbage man, the landscaper, the grocery store cashier, the farm workers picking fruits and vegetables in the fields, cafeteria workers at hospitals or schools, construction workers, tradesmen, nurses, mechanics, technicians, nursing home care workers, doctors, professionals, and the list goes on and on. We all have a unique place in this world. Life, as we have become comfortable to know, would not exist without all of us doing our part. If the farm workers were not picking our fruits and vegetables, our grocery store produce department would look pretty bare. If our garbage men stopped doing their job, we’d have a pretty large heap of trash to try to get rid of some how. If an emergency room doctor walked out in the middle of a shift, there would be a lot of lives that were endangered, needing emergency care. We are all indispensable! We all play a role in the body of Christ.
Romans 12:4-5 NIV
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, [5] so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
Pledges
I think it boils down to respecting the lives of others, no matter their skin color or culture. When we can look at others as a child of God, instead of someone that you despise, hearts will change. Loving your neighbor as yourself was Jesus’ command to us. It is simple, yet so difficult for many. We can get this right. We can become “One Nation Under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for All.” We’ve said this phrase over and over as we pledge allegiance to the flag our entire lives, but do we really truly live this pledge? Are we truly indivisible? If that were the case, we wouldn’t have a need for the movements in the current environment. There would be familiarity and compassion towards others that crosses over cultural boundaries. To be indivisible, we need leadership that follows the Good Shepherd and doesn’t divide our communities, cities, states and nation. We all need to do our part to start the movement of being indivisible.
A New Leaf
For those that have had indifferences or prejudices with others, God has given us His word with many scriptural references against such things. I pray that you would read the verses below and begin to let them saturate your heart with the love that God has for all of us and begin a new day asking God’s forgiveness and let Him work on your heart to repair relationships in your life.
I love you and am praying for you today!
Dad