What lives Matter? Do all lives matter? Do white lives matter? Do only black lives matter? What about
Mexican or Salvadorian lives? Do they matter? On what basis?
As Christians, that is, a those who have been called,
justified, and sanctified by God for his purposes, whose sins have been paid
for, what is our view as to whose lives matter? The false narrative that many
would ascribe to says that one group of people should be preferred above others
because they have been persecuted and enslaved or one group has been
supposedly, "blessed by God" over another group.
Multiculturalism suggests that we celebrate our differences.
Scripture suggests that we celebrate our unity. By this I don't mean
that I celebrate that I am white and am male. What I mean is that I
celebrate my relationship and my unity with all people in Christ. This is
what unites me to all believers around the world. Christianity transcends
any physical differences and becomes the thing that is to be celebrated.
As Christians, we should understand that it is not about color, origin or
language. Those things are not what we celebrate. Because, if we do
celebrate them alone, they will separate us and what we end up with are white
churches, black churches, Chinese churches and African churches, etc.
Columbus has all of these. (I understand language is a barrier in some
instances). This is what Paul is emphasizing when he says in Colossians 3:10-15.
10 and have put on the new self, which is being
renewed in knowledge after
the image of its
creator. 11 Here there is not
Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,[e] free;
but Christ is all,
and in all.
12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones,
holy and beloved, compassionate
hearts, kindness, humility,
meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a
complaint against another, forgiving
each other; as
the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything
together in perfect
harmony. 15 And let the peace of
Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
Our harmony, as believers, is based on our commonality
which is being part of the same family, God's family. There are no classes and
we are all free to serve and love one another. We have the same Father
and the same Spirit bearing witness to the same Word that what God tells us is
true. So, we celebrate our unity not our differences. By
celebrating or emphasizing our differences we become divided and
segregated. By celebrating our unity, we see that we are all equal,
valid, valuable, loved and cherished in Christ. None is more valid
than another. None is more usable by God than the other. Those that would divide us have a limited,
temporal perspective. They do not realize that in Christ, we are one. Revelation
5: 9-10
9 And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy
are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
If we are students of the Bible who are accustomed to
listening to others to find out what the Scriptures say, then we are at the
mercy of their bias and prejudice. If we are students who would study the
Scriptures and find out whether what we are hearing is true or not, then we will
be able to validate the truth of those things written herein. We must
interpret correctly and apply what Scripture teaches.
There is one race. The human race. All are valuable,
all are valid, all have worth and meaning. None more than others.
