Distinctly Christian Dialogue on Race and Justice

Here's a few thoughts, in no particular order (or at least I don't think so!):

1. Justice is God's idea. Without God, there would be no justice. Anytime justice is enacted, it honors the Lord. Scripture (especially Proverbs) is adamant about this.

2. All people are image-bearers and are to be treated as such.

3. The horror and the gross tragedy of the cross exposes me to be a deeply, deeply screwed up person. Jesus dies for me, a real death for a real sinner. I cannot hide or pretend otherwise and call myself a follower of Christ.

Therefore, when I am in conversation and the possibility is brought up that I am racist or sexist, it is not a shock to me. I must push past my natural instinct to immediately push back. Jesus has already seen fit to call me an adulterer, a murderer and a self-righteous hypocrite (see the Sermon on the Mount) and I call him Lord and Friend. He died for that. There's a good possibility that racism and sexism is at work in my heart, too, and that the Lord is using this conversation to reveal that to me.

If it's there, praise God that it's being exposed so that it might be dealt with! At the very least, if a Christian brother or sister brings something like this to my attention I need to be willing to receive it humbly and go to the Lord with it in prayer. Wisdom is life. One key to wisdom is a teachable heart and a teachable spirit. The Scriptures, (especially Proverbs) are adamant about this, too.

4. Since all people have this sin problem, no one is ever given a blank check to do or to say anything they want. Minorities and/or women will be held responsible by the Lord for what is said in these types of conversations, just as white males will be. In the Christian community, we have an obligation to "submit to one another" and to speak the truth in love. We are often more likely to act sinfully when we are right. Beware of me when I'm right. Beware of you when you're right. Pain is also a powerful and angry motivator. When both of those pieces are present and at work in a specific situation, we need to be especially careful.

We can be sinned against and then sin in response. We must be aware of this.

5. Reconciliation is already done in Christ. Christian dialogue about justice and race is done in the context of a finished story, something that has already been accomplished in Christ. The final chapter has already been written. We are not trying to create something from scratch, we are simply moving in the power of the Spirit to bring about the realization of something that we'll fully experience when all things have reached the end.

Our hope, therefore, is not in people's good intentions (Lord, save us!) but in the inexorable coming Kingdom. It is our destiny as God's people to be reconciled. Ephesians makes clear that our work is simply to take the small steps of our time, in our generation, to bring this reality into our experience. And it's this power that will bring about genuine change.

Just some initial sketches...my guess is that my astute readers will notice gaps right away, perhaps other planks that form the platform of a distinctly Christian dialogue on race and justice. Fire away!