Get the appRecovering Hope: A 5-Day Devotional on the Intersection of Race, Mental Health, and FaithSample
Just as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit exist in eternal relationship, so we are created for connection with God and others. In mysterious and profound ways, our identity is shaped by our communities. How damaging it is, then, to be perceived by others as anything less than God’s glorious creation. In fact, research suggests that a devalued sense of self is one of the greatest psychological wounds inflicted by racism. Healing can only take place when the lies about a person’s value are exposed, and genuine validation is offered and received.
I was adopted from India just before my second birthday. Growing up, I struggled to identify as Indian in India, or Indian in America. Yet, as I found life hidden in Christ, I accepted that although I might have felt like the deviation where I lived and rejected by where I was from, I was equal in the Kingdom. My true place, my post, was in the Kingdom. My insecurities about my skin, culture, and story threatened my sense of personhood, but as Christ became my true north, I found an unshakeable identity as a child of God.
In the kingdom, I could bring all of me, my experiences, my skin, my story to the table. And for all of us, this is the way it was intended to be. No matter what color, no matter our past, no matter our culture, we find our equality as sons and daughters of God. As brothers and sisters together.
Paul addresses the theme of identity in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. He writes to believers from vastly different racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds, reminding them of who they are in Christ individually and corporately. Every member of the body of Christ is worthy of honor, and the body as a whole suffers when an individual member is mistreated. For this reason, Paul insists on validating the unique gifts and identity of everyone.
As you read these verses, ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you about your identity. Are there places where your self-worth has been diminished by experiences of racism? Now reflect on your community. Are there people who need to hear words of validation? Is your community being negatively impacted by the mistreatment of individual members?
About this Plan
How can people from diverse racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds come together to heal wounds, reconcile with one another, and begin the journey of recovery? Paul's letters to the church address this same question as he struggled to reconcile first-century Jewish and Gentile believers. His pastoral and theological vision for a united church addressed education, identity, community, hope, and responsibility. In our day, we can do the same.
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