Last Updated on February 1, 2021
There are a few topics that when brought up at the dinner table can bring some automatic tension. And race is definitely one of them.
But I would argue that as parents and believers in Christ, we’re doing a disservice to our kids and communities if we stay hush-hush on issues of race.
The fact is, for those of us in America, race touches every single thing that we do. Disagreements on race relations are a part of our history. And even if you don’t believe that race is a problem, there’s still an emotional response to the topic, because it’s so deeply ingrained in our culture and society.
We can’t only say we celebrate the greatness of America and deny the fact that we’ve also inherited some things from America that aren’t so great.
A biblical perspective on race
So how do we talk about race from a biblical perspective?
How do we use the truths of God’s Word as a lens to view the issues we face in our sinful world?
“So in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” – Galatians 3:26-29
As believers, we know that Christ has already overcome everything in this world. In Him we have hope. Through Him, we know there’s neither Jew nor Greek or slave or free or rich or poor. And so as followers of Jesus, we should be empowered by the blood of Christ.
We can have hard conversations because we know our hope is in God. We have comfort despite the craziness of our world because we know that He has covered all this. And there is no shame and no condemnation because of Him.
- Recognize racism is sin. It’s like any other thing that we talk about throughout Scripture that we need to be repaired from. It’s just another manifestation of the sin that has plagued the human condition.
- We repent from our sin. We ask God to search our hearts for any traces of it. And then we ask Him to give us opportunities to engage with, get to know, and understand people that are different than us.
- Reconciliation starts with God. We have been reconciled to Him. And so we can have reconciliation with each other because of Him.
Friend, God created us all these different colors on purpose. And they’re beautiful. We are all made in His image. The fact that all these colors exist is a reflection of His creativity.
God puts no individual value on these colors, and neither should we.
Let’s ask Him to give us eyes to see each other as we really are – beloved sons and daughters of the King.
