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Did you feel it? That subtle clench of your teeth? Maybe the
tiny arch of your shoulders that you involuntarily tensed? Or maybe the
response was a little deeper, in the pit of your stomach. Just reading the
title of this post can be enough to make us feel uncomfortable both
physically and spiritually. Race is a button that is guaranteed a heightened
response no matter where we find ourselves on its spectrum.
Before I go
any further, let me put my cards on the table. I’m white. I have a white
husband. I have 3 white as snow biological kids. I live in a predominately
white neighborhood. I go to church with mostly white people, and you guessed
it- all of my close friends are white. I don’t have anything fueling an agenda,
no big life event that centered around blatant racism. So why do I care? Why
does race matter to me?
Because Jesus matters to me. I know that sounds cliche. Stick with me.
After Jesus
ascended into heaven, we are given the book of Acts to take the baton of
Christianity and run with it. The gospel
is presented to Jews; many of whom rejected it. After that we are given
narrative after narrative of the Good News being passed along to Gentiles. You
might be thinking that this is dandy but it was a long time ago in a very dusty
and archaic place with no lattes. How does it have relevance to a white mom today struggling to navigate the course of racism in the 21st
century? Its relevant because the implication is clear: the Gospel is for ALL
people.
In Acts 10
we are introduced to a God fearing Gentile name Cornelius. Through a vision, he
is told to call for Peter. Peter was also having an interesting vision himself
around this same time and all of this eventually culminates in verse 25 when
Peter comes into Cornelius’s home. He reminds Cornelius that Jewish law would
have traditionally forbidden him from entering his home but that he now had an
understanding that he shouldn’t think of Gentiles as impure or unclean
(v.28). Cornelius waits expectantly for
Peter to give the “message the Lord has given” (v.33).
Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that
God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do
what is right. This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel – that
there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
Acts 10:34-36.
Okay. Snap
back into latte land with me now. I read this passage sitting in a lawn chair
with a baby monitor in one hand and my other hand held up to block my son from spraying
me with his squirt bottle. I had just wanted to get a few minutes in the Bible
and honestly had hoped for a coffee cup-esque take away phrase to mull over.
Something that would look pretty on a painting at Hobby Lobby. “God is Love.”
“Jesus Saves.” I wondered how “God doesn’t show favoritism because of your
race” would look above my mantle.
I did mull
it over. For several days. I thought over and over that I am not the person to
speak into this issue. Refer to my opening statement. Although it should, it doesn’t really affect
my day to day life.
Except that it DOES affect me because I call
myself a Christian. I have brothers and sisters with more colorful skin than me
that experience real hardships and bias daily that I will never encounter. It
has to affect me because they are my eternal family members. We are co-heirs in
an eternal Kingdom together and the choices that I make and defend on Earth
will have forever implications on my heavenly reward. The call to follow the
radical racial boundary breaking teaching of the Bible is clear. According to
the Bible that I say I read and believe, EVERY person was made in the image of
God. EVERY person carries value. Honestly, I’m struggling here because I don’t think
“value” is a weighty enough word in that statement. The New Testament shifts the axis of the story of the Bible from an ethnic chosen people to an opportunity for ALL people of ALL races to sit at the table.
So what should I do? What should WE
do? We WANT to stretch a hand out to other people but we’re scared of saying
something incorrectly and making the air in the room even more stale. I am a
stay at home mom. Most of the time it feels like the only influence I have is
over what kind of deli meat I drop in my grocery cart. Luckily, the
Holy Spirit doesn’t leave us hanging, because a few days later I was back in my
lawn chair.
I made it to Acts 16 when something
weird happened in scripture. We have the introduction of Timothy. The very
first bullet point fact about Timothy is that his mother was a Jewish believer
and his father was a Greek.
He’s mixed.
Why did the Bible tell us that
RIGHT AWAY? Race was still tense. His neighbors undoubtedly noted the racial
differences in the neighborhood. However, the next fact about Timothy is what
will matter forever. He was well thought of by the believers in Lystra
and Iconium so Paul wanted him to join him on his journey (16:2-3).
He was a strong believer and
thought of so highly that Paul himself specifically chose him to go with him on
his missionary journey. But before he left, he arranged for Timothy to be
circumcised (16:3). Previously, in Acts there had been an entire discussion on
the need for Christians to be circumcised. A council had met- it was a whole
THING. The verdict had been that Christians did NOT have to be circumcised. So
what’s happening here with poor Timothy?
He did this willingly to overcome
any stigma that he may have had with Jewish believers. What can I joyfully give
up in order to make the bridge for racial equality, specifically in the church, a little more
passable for a brother or sister of color? Am I willing to endure awkward
conversations and raised eyebrows so that the gospel can go forth in every race? What
implication does that have on my own motherhood? The language I use at home? What
I spend my time passing down to my kids?
I am using my white privileged
voice to say that there is one Father, one God over all. No matter our pigment
tone, we are created to serve and worship the one true God and repent from the
sin that lives deep in the wells of every color heart. We, like Timothy, should be
more than willing to face whatever uncomfortable racially challenging situation
we meet so that the gospel can go forth.
As a mother, I am the first person
that my kids learn from. They carefully watch my language, my habits,
they know what makes me tick. Is there anything in my life that blatantly says
to my children that I care deeply about the well-being of others, no matter
what race they are? Am I intentional about having hard conversations with them?
Do I educate them well with what the Bible ACTUALLY says? Beyond the things
that would look so pretty etched in gold paint on canvas?
Opening our mouths to speak into
truth produces immeasurable influence. I'm praying that we'll be brave enough.
