"For God So Loved The WORLD ..."
by Sandra Carol Mers Clayton on Monday, July 30, 2012 at 1:59am ·
There was in today's paper an article about a church in Mississippi (did I spell that right?) that refused to marry an African-American couple in the church - and this couple, according to the article, has been attending the church!
It seems the wedding had been planned and the pastor was ready to perform the ceremony in the church, as planned, when he got wind of a few of the members who were not happy to have a "black" couple being married in "their" church. Other members, it was reported, were angry and totally taken by surprise when they heard, after the wedding was held elsewhere, that a few of their number had protested having the wedding at the church. Instead of standing up against the dissenters and standing UP for the rest of the congregation and for what was right, the pastor backed down and, though he still performed the ceremony, it was held elsewhere.
Racism, at any time, is bad. Terrible. Not good. Racism is not God's way; it particularly saddens me when I see racism among we Christians. No one is perfect on this - racism exists among non-Christians as well; racism exists among every race, I've discovered. It isn't simply a "Caucasian" sin. However, I still say that it is especially sad to see Christians practice racism, whatever race the Christian is.
My piece of art here says that "love is color blind"; and it is. We might "love somebody or not love somebody ... respect somebody or not respect somebody ... like somebody or not like somebody" because of "this, that, or the other" but we should never decide how we feel about a person because of that person's color/culture/race. Love is color-blind; well, it should be. As Christians we are to follow God's way, and God's way is not to practice racism.
God's love IS color-blind. He loves ALL of us, whether we are white, black, purple or pink! God's ... love ... is ... color-blind. Jesus died on that cross for ALL of us - EVERY color/culture/race. Scripture does not say "for God so loved.... the white man/the black man/ the yellow man...". "For God so loved the WORLD. Not just the "white" world. Not just the "black" world. Not just the "yellow" world. God loves ALL. He grants forgiveness and salvation to ALL who ask for it and believe that Christ died for us.
If we are truly Christian and wish to follow God's way we will not practice racism of any sort. Every person is welcome in God's church - and every pastor and church member should be welcoming every color/race/culture into our congregations. To not do so is, let's call it what it is, it is sin. Anyone practicing such sin should confess to God and start again, from that point, to live God's way in regards to racism. And God's way is to not practice it.
For God so loved the WORLD. God's love is color-blind. Ours should be, too.
"Love Is Color-Blind"
