I haven't touched on this subject yet and truthfully don't really know where to start. I am not naive to the fact that our daughters will look very different from us, and may at times, feel like outsiders in our white family. Our prayer though, is that they would see Jesus in us and always feel loved. We have a strong desire to make sure our girls stay in touch with their Ethiopian roots. We are not adopting these children to pluck them out of their culture and expect them to forget about it. Ethiopia has such a rich and deeply rooted Christian culture and I believe that we would truly be missing out if we were to do that. So, in thinking about all this, my mind races with how our girls will fit in to our society, town, church, etc. How will they see themselves? How will they relate to others? Will they have different thought processes than American black children? Probably. I am so curious to see how all this plays out once they are home with us. I came across this documentary by a 17 year old highschool girl from NYC. If you have a few minutes (8 to be exact), I suggest you watch the following video. It is VERY interesting to see that we really haven't come that far. I pray that our daughters will be proud of their color, their heritage, their culture and their families, Ethiopian and American. But most of all I pray that they never have to base their self worth on the color of their skin, the style of their hair or where they come from. That ultimately they can look to Christ and know that it is only HIM that makes them whole.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Let's talk about race...
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Let's talk about race.
It's Saturday morning, the coffee is hot, the Wii is in full blown Mario glory... I think it's time for a hot topic.
We live in a world full of sin. That means it is easier for me to look at someone who is browner, yellower, taller, or prettier than me and find them intimidating because they are different.
God established the boundaries of the nations in Genesis 11, after the Flood (Gen 6-8) to avoid another worldwide confrontation with humanity. He does this not because he is afraid or intimidated, but because He is merciful, and wants to avoid destroying humanity utterly... again.
He fractures the races. Language, color, and culture separate us. We remain subdivided pockets of people. This means God can raise up the Romans, use them for a purpose, and then remove them when their sinfulness demands judgment. Assyria, Babylonia, Hellenistic Greeks... the USSR... these nations have gone the way of Gary Rutsey (google it!) once they served their purpose and allowed themselves to wallow in sin.
Why is this important to review? Because nation will war against nation... and that doesn't just mean political powers... the word for nations is ethne, meaning ethnic groups (Matthew 24:7).
The ethnicity politics we see in current events is just the tip of the iceberg. The potential for racial insanity lies just beneath the thin veneer of our civility. We aren't the first nation to achieve some degree of ethnic peace, and we won't be the last. But, we shouldn't allow the rhetoric of the media (youtubers who are 17 are included here) to influence us into thinking that no gains have been made with regard to race relations in the US, or that we still have so far to go... we are where we are... some good news and some bad news.
Does that leave us without hope? No. This is what the scriptures have to say about the solution:
Eph 2:14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
Jesus Christ brings peace to the nations. He breaks down the dividing wall that separates one race from another and is creating a holy nation, a royal priesthood. He is not reconciling one ethnic group to another, He is reconciling us one to another, one person at a time.
Martha is coming, and she is a beautiful little girl created in the image of God. When people say, "She should have been adopted by a black couple" we will smile at them and say, "too late!"
When they say, "but what will she know of her ethnic identity?" we'll smile at them and say, "She's human, and created in the image of God, and this is her identity... and we will pray for the day when she finds her true identity in Christ."
Peace will be built between the tribe of the Ethiopians and the tribe of the Vikings as your love for one another grows. Someone will tell her she should feel oppressed or robbed of her ethnic identity, and she'll feel that an odd suggestion because of the love she has found in your home.
God is moving in the hearts of His people to disciple the nations. By the One Blood shed on the cross He is calling out followers from all the ethnic groups to be His people... This continues as you bring her to your home, across the ocean, and welcome her into your family, for His glory.
Wow. This sermon provided free of charge. It might be a little off topic... maybe... Let's discuss.
Whoa back horsey...:)
thanks for the biblical encouragement.... so true and so right on target. I will store that away for the day we are asked the tough questions. Welcoming them - as we are able to share/show Christ with those whose scales have yet to fall.
Couldn't find Gary Rutsey? RUSH?
You have to agree though- that the "doll test" is pretty shocking.
The "doll test" brought tears. My heart breaks for children who would see themselves as anything less than a beautiful creation, made specifically and purposefully by God.
Martha is bridging worlds in ways that she will never know. We pray that her identity is complete in Christ and that she will lead the world to find the same.
We love you guys!
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