Last October we moved from Prattville, Alabama back to Minneapolis/St. Paul to care for our parents. Then came the pandemic and the uncertainty, and now the unneeded death of a black man and I felt overwhelmed and unsure of what to say, do, or to think. Maybe I am just naive about such things because I don’t see what others seem to be seeing when they see people different from themselves. Last night as we gathered as a church to pray for our Twin Cities, and our mutual Father reminded me of three things.
One, He created us, all of us, in His image. What does that look like? Well, just look in the mirror, His image is what you see. Diverse and beautiful in nature. Look at His creation of trees. Many different types, shapes and colors, many different fruits and flowers they all have, yet they are all trees and all beautiful in His sight!
People, we need to remember this!
Two, our mutual Father sent His one and only son, Jesus to say the entirety of humanity. “Red and yellow, black and white. They are precious in His sight.” The WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD was reconciled to our mutual Father through his Son, Jesus. The person of diversity you see in your daily walk, well, Jesus died for them, just as Jesus died for you!
People, we need to remember this!
Finally, Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to walk before, beside and behind us, and gave us a mission to be Ambassadors of Reconciliation. To share the Good News to all the world, to all people of nations, all of all ethnicities. We are to be the light in the darkness fo this world. We are to be the salt in this tasteless world. We are to love all and to seek and save those who are lost, regardless of who they are or where they come from or the color of their skin.
People, we need to remember this!
In the movie Avatar, the main female character Neytiri of the Na’vi people, looks at Jake in his Avatar form, and said: “I see you.” What she meant in that line was I see you for who you are, not what you look like or where you came from. It reminds me of our mutual Father who “sees you”. He sees you not of what you have done or the darkness within you but sees you through the blood of Jesus. He sees you as one of His precious and redeemed creation. My prayer is when we look around us and see others created in His image, we see them, not as different, but as the same.
People, we need to remember this!