All it took was just eight solid minutes and forty-six precious seconds, that was the time it took that has changed and redefined history forever. It was the time a police officer took to snuff out the life of his neighbor with hands handcuffed behind his back with his neck pinned to the ground by a police officer.
I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, tell mama, I can’t breathe he screamed out. Breath is a gift of life from God that made humankind a living soul. The Bible says that God breathed into his nostril after creating Adam from the dust of the earth. Breath is a precious gift from God that no man has the right to deprive others of having the benefits. Nevertheless, the police officer was bent on taking the breath away from his neighbor anyway.
Today that action has touched the conscience of all humankind without exception. The world has changed her outlook with protest rocking all nations. There is an awakening in motion championed by the rejects and the least likely in the society towards a race reconciliation. It is no more a black thing. Now all is involved in the healing process with the racial divide that has long separated the people shattered.
People of all colors are on the street daily marching for the establishment of a just and equitable society. Across the states, more people of all colors are crying out for justice and peace, both white, black, brown representing every race. Black Lives Matters is no more a minority slogan, but representative of all crying with brokenness and indignation against a system that allowed such hatred and wickedness to exist for too long.
The closed seals of trouble are opening one at a time to the utter amazement of the world. Yesterday, it was the pandemic crisis and the great mourning of those who have lost their lives and the damage down to the world economy. But when the world thought the Coronavirus pandemic is waning thin and things would soon return to normal, then the unexpected happened.
Good, but what about the church, our dear Church. Why is the wall still standing? Why is there no lamentation in our Churches that proclaims the name of the Lord and pride in the purity of her doctrine? Why is the Church not speaking out and leading the way? The Church has missed another excellent opportunity to declare the love of God to a dying world. The church is supposed to be at the forefront of the ministry of reconciliation to the nations. The Church has been called to advance the kingdom of Christ reconciling love worldwide. That means the time has come to reconcile, embrace, and celebrate our difference and diversities to the glory of God.
As a Christian, I may be tempted to conclude that whatsoever has happened is of the devil, and concerns only the world that does not know the Lord. At the same time, I may try to use religious acrobats to point fingers at the rioters and looters as socialist and “Antifa” sympathizers bent on fermenting trouble to destabilize our nation. However, let the truth be told to the glory of God. But how can the socialist see beyond the veil to condemn the evil that I justify with my faith? How can the same secular and unbelieving world condemn the wicked acts of racial oppression, profiling, and inequality, and the church stands unmoved without compassion and empathy?
What has happened so far is the revelation of our lip services and the barrenness of our individual heart to the consternation of the world. Church leaders and followers have all tried to maintain the systemic and unholy alliance that perpetuates the status quo. In today’s world, truth is often unpleasant and unwanted as an umpire to moderate social issues that benefits the majority. All because the love of God has taken leave from town. The love of God shed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit has been left to decompose and atrophied.
The crux of the matter is that God’s love has left us in our nakedness, and uncaring and unsympathetic and dry theological expositions that only promote our denomination, and not Christ. That run contrasts with what our Lord has commanded us to practice if we truly love Him. Some may say I love God and my neighbor as myself. That is good if that is true in the ongoing situation unraveling before us. However, the truth must be told no matter how had it seems.
But the big question today concerns our love extended to our enemy. How many of us truly love our enemies? Because Christ Jesus exemplified that love and expressly commanded us to love our enemies. Some may ask who is my enemy?
That is where the test and the difficulties arise that shame us to our outward profession of faith. Do you love your enemies as yourself? Do you see yourself reflected in the image of your enemy? Do you believe all men bear the fearful image of God? If you do, that is love in action. That is love worth dying for.
What does love have to do with the murder of George Floyd? Everything. If the police officer had, an atom of love in his heart events would have been different today. If he has seen the image of God shining brightly in the eyes of George, things would have been different.
Without love, we are subject to the same tendencies that gave way to that act of murder. Surprisingly, many of us do not know what love means in practice. We have so compartmentalized and abused love that we are left with nothing but hatred looking like love. In fact, what we call love is hatred disguised as love. If not so what can explain the wicked act that took the world by storm?
Unknowingly and knowingly the church has encouraged the doctrine of hatred against those that are different and look different. If you don’t believe then walk into a white evangelical church with your skin-colored black. Including those who do not agree with their core beliefs. Tell an independent and fundamentalist that you are a Pentecostalist and watch what happens.
Many pastors of the fundamental and independent streams have turned “Love your enemies” to “Hate your enemies” with scriptures to back the practice. Whereas neither the Old nor New Testament enjoined the children of Israel or the Church to hate their neighbor. The God we served required of us to love the strangers, the immigrant, and those who hate us, etc. All the writers of the New Testament epistles to the church repeat this teaching.
Now today’s believers are not encouraged to be reconcilers, but to be far, and hostile to those who are different. That is why in some countries, we have the white, black, Mexican, African, the Pentecostal, Evangelical, Catholic, Orthodox, and you name it churches. Today’s Church has separated people, by religious and doctrinal beliefs, political affiliation, and cultural and personal differences. The Pentecostal cannot fellowship with the Evangelicals. The Baptist cannot agree with the Black Southern Baptist that believes in speaking in tongues. The Methodist would not fellowship with the Pentecostals. Where is Christ in all this?
Let us not deceive ourselves, as long as we refuse to confront the truth and reconcile with one another the evil would continue. And the same hatred that killed George Floyd would haunt our churches. The same virus “I am superior to you” syndrome that killed Eric Gardner’s shall rule among us if we refuse to reach across the racial divide.
When we make enemies of the Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, Muslim, unbelievers, immigrant, drug and alcohol addicted, gay, transgender, Black, White, Brown, socialist, liberal and conservative because they do not follow us, then we are no different in character from the murderous police officer. But glory to God. That is not who we are as believers in Christ Jesus.
yeshuaprayer 