“For
a child is born to us, a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
His government and its peace will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!”
Isaiah 9:6-7 (NLT)
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
His government and its peace will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!”
Isaiah 9:6-7 (NLT)
On
Monday evening a Grand Jury announced that it would not indict Officer Darren
Wilson for the shooting death of Michael Brown.
As I watched the announcement I thought of the Gospel which tells us that
both men were created in the image of God and as loved by God as you and I.
I
read that a
recent poll showed that 54 percent of nonwhites, including blacks, Latinos and
Asians, say Wilson should be charged with murder, while just 23 percent of
whites agree.
I
wonder how different my opinion of the Grand Jury’s decision would be were I
black, in particular, black and poor.
It is amazing how differently different people, ethnicities, socio
economic groups, sexes see the world.
It’s certain that each of us is swayed by self-validation bias, yet
it’s still amazing that we can’t seem to transcend our own pre-judgments.
We are a cynical people, even we Christians.
Has the Gospel really changed us?
Maybe we are not as converted as we think we are (the most segregated
time of the week in America is Sunday morning in our churches).
I know that I have light years to go before I am fully converted.
Yet
Jesus showed up as always. He
was there in the statements of Michael Brown’s father, “please
keep your protests peaceful.” “Answering violence with violence is not the
appropriate reaction – Let’s not just make noise, let’s make a
difference,”
He
was there when President Obama read Mr. Brown’s words calling for people to
avoid violence: “Hurting and destroying others is not the answer,” “I do
not want my son’s death to be in vain. I want it to lead to incredible change,
positive change, change that makes the St. Louis region better for everyone.”
He
was there as when Attorney General Holder said last week, “History has . . . .
shown us that the most successful and enduring movements for change are those
that adhere to non-aggression and non-violence,”
The
Message that transformed the world two thousand years ago in Palestine is this;
“Christ died for our sins, rose from the dead and is now Lord of all”
(1 Cor. 1:3,4, Romans 10:9). The
Apostle Paul summarized it well this way, “all things work together for the
good those who love the Lord and are called are according to His purpose”
(Romans8:28) God is
working everything together for the good of everyone and everything.
Those who believe that will not only see it, they’ll also get in on it.
Those who remain in their cynicism won’t.
*quotes
cited from Juan William op-ed and from Christian Post.
For
more:
follow on Twitter @jefflampl
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