We Are All God's Children: Embracing DifferencesSample

Do Something!

We had a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the launch of our Dignity Museum. This was a golden opportunity to educate people from all walks of life on the differences and strong connections between race and class. You can read more about it on our Love Beyond Walls website. What I would like to share from that event is a statement made by one of our speakers. We gave an award to George. Once working in corporate America, he fell on tough times and found himself on the streets. We helped him get back on his feet and make the transition out of homelessness. He told a bit of his story that day, about the harsh encounters and discrimination he faced that made him feel like a second-class citizen. He said something that will always stick with me. “Today, you see me as someone who has my act together. I’m well dressed, articulate, and have a full-time job. But the truth is I’m still the same person today I was when I was experiencing homelessness.”

I have thought about that declaration many times since. George’s worth as a person did not increase when he cut his hair, showered, and put on a suit. It was other people’s perceptions that had changed. People’s biases caused them to mistake him for someone they did not trust, someone they thought was a threat. This is something we do all the time. We tend to associate worth and value with external appearance. But in doing so, we forsake the essence of what a person possesses inside and who they are: God’s child.

In the Scripture reading today you will find the story of when the apostles gathered around Jesus, who was teaching to a large crowd. When it became late, Jesus’ disciples asked Jesus to send the people away to find something to eat. Instead, Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat” (Mark 6:37 ESV).

Those last six words always get me. In other words, do not just tell everyone to go home and say you have done the best you can. Do something yourself.

If you are wondering what to do and how to do it, consider reading All God’s Children: How Confronting Buried History Can Build Racial Solidarity. Within the pages you can learn how God sees us and how we can see, engage, and stand in solidarity with his children.

Adapted from All God’s Children: How Confronting Buried History Can Build Racial Solidarity. Copyright © 2023 by Terence Brandon Lester. Used by permission. For more information, please visit www.ivpress.com/all-god-s-children.