The Race Divide

Martin Luther King Jr. said, "At 11:00 on Sunday when we stand and sing Christ has no east or west, we stand at the most segregated hour in this nation."

This statement was true then and it's still true today. God's Word tells us that "There is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:28. So, if God's Word teaches us that in Him we are the same, why do we have such a race divide in the church?

The reason for my questions is because of what I'm seeing in our political world. As many of you know there is a good chance that the Democrat nominee for President could be Obama. It would be the first time, according to polls, that a black man would be a legitimate front runner to win. Before I get into my thoughts on the subject I want to say that I don't have a problem with someone of another race being the leader of our country. However, with the stuff that's coming out of the Obama camp it seems that we are dividing race more than uniting our country.

Many of you have already heard the statements of his pastor. You have heard his church's stance. You have heard the words of Obama. And the reason that I'm sharing all of this today is because I'm tired of race being an issue. Over recent years we have states making apologies for slavery. We find leaders of our country bowing down to affirmative action. When the fact of the matter is our country, and our churches, have made great strides when it comes to the race divide.

I have to ask if we will ever see a black man who can run for president without making race or slavery an issue? Will we ever see a woman run for president without making gender or women's rights an issue? It seems as though our quest for equality has come up short. Rather than creating unity we are dividing our nation and further dividing our churches. That's one of the reasons that I don't use the term African-American, Chinese-American, or the like. There was a time in our country when the people who came over for freedom and a greater opportunity of life wanted be known as American's and nothing else.

The majority of people in this country have come from a line of immigrants. Irish, Scottish, German, Polish, etc. Have we forgotten that this country was formed primarily by group of men who came from England? But how often do you hear the phrase English-American? Yes, our country has endured some tremendous growing pains. Our churches have had to endure some changes as well. But I wonder if we will ever be able to overcome our past. I wonder if we will ever be able to judge men and women "based upon the content of their character rather than the color of their skin" as Dr. King envisioned.

It's sad to think that we have people running for the "highest" office in the land who continue to play race, gender, and class warfare cards. It's sad to think that we still have pastors who think it's necessary to continue to divide and segregate. Jesus died for all. His blood was shed for humanity. Don't talk to me about "White Christianity" when our faith has it's roots in the middle east. This may shock you but Jesus wasn't white. Jesus wasn't black. Jesus - in his earthly form - looked like the Jewish people of His time. The Bible said that He came to His own but they did not receive Him.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ points to a time when all nations, tribes, and languages are gathered around the throne of God bringing praise to Him. Why can't we do that today? Why are our churches so divided? Why is our country still so divided? We in the church of Jesus Christ should be under one banner - Jesus Christ. We in this nation should be under one banner - the flag of the United States. I think it's time that we start trying to bring this country together. But it will never happen if all we can do is look backwards. It's also time to bring our churches together. All churches that lay claim to faith in Jesus Christ have one mission. That mission is to bring the lost to Christ.

It's time for the churches of this nation to intensify our prayers. We need to pray for the scars of racial division to be healed. We need to pray for the unity of all believers. We will never affect the division of our country if we will not deal with the division in our churches. We must remember that we are all one in Christ Jesus. Amen.