Urgency of the moment.
“It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. “
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
I am heartbroken by the events that have happened this weekend and the events that I have been aware of in my adulthood. This is not right. It is not the truth. Hatred of another person because they have a different skin color is not right, but it is way too familiar. If you are in the majority race, you probably don’t even realize it. They are lies from Satan himself.
Satan is a crafty devil and is on the move. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us to “Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” He knows that the way to divide our nation is to drive a wedge between our hearts on social justice. He is distracting us from the truth of the gospel. We have become distracted by scandals in the White House, whether or not Colin Kaepernick protested the “right” way, the busyness of life in our schedules, the events that have happened in Charlottesville, and many more things that just fill up our time.
What is happening in Charlottesville is pure evil and must be called out as so. The Church and those that make up the Church must call out sin. Racism and acts by those who identify as members of White Supremacist/Nationalist groups dehumanize other races and try to remove what makes them human. God created every race, tribe, tongue, and nation. We all are created in His image, and that cannot change.
We feel overwhelmed and become complacent and numb in the comforts of our homes and privileges. The Devil has caused a raucous since the garden and has not given up yet, even though he knows he loses in the end. He knows that Multi-ethnic churches are forming and are beginning to break the divide of our racialized society. His objective to seek and destroy. He knows that these churches are living out the gospel to their neighborhoods and showing society the unbiased love of Jesus Christ. What is happening in our nation is not new, but has plagued us since we began.
Pray that God would restore to Himself the hearts of those that have participated in these events.
Pray that God would restore to Himself the hearts of those that feel unwanted in our society because of events like what has happened in Charlottesville.
Pray that God would use His Church to be the salt and light in communities all over our nation and the world when faced with these difficult circumstances.
Repent of your comforts and preferences.
Pray that God will lift people within the Church to speak out against racism and social injustice.