Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

Jesus and Racism, Part 1

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“When the days were coming to a close for Him to be taken up, He determined to journey to Jerusalem. He sent messengers ahead of Him, and on the way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make preparations for Him. But they did not welcome Him, because He determined to journey to Jerusalem. “ – Luke 9:51-53 (HCSB)

Jesus takes the most direct path to reach His destination. He must realize that this path will take Him through places where He will be scorned and rejected; places that “religious leaders” would never dare to enter; places of trials. It’s interesting to think about Jesus’ upbringing in light of this passage. All of His life He would have been taught to shun and despise this other race, the Samaritans. In His perfect love He demonstrates that He has no room in His heart for racism. He intentionally goes to stay in a village of those he was taught to despise. Would we, a modern so-called civilized people, do the same?

This racism is seen on the part of the Samaritans as well; to this day, racism is rarely one-sided. They reject Christ out of hand because of their hatred for His race. Yet we know from other passages that some Samaritans did come to follow Him. Some looked past the race issue to hear what Jesus had to say.

As Christians, we are called to follow Christ’s example. We too must take the most direct path in our walk with Christ, even when we know this means placing ourselves in difficult situations. We must put aside our prejudice and preconceived notions; many of the things we’ve been taught all our lives must be discarded and replaced with the love of Christ.

Father, purge any trace of racism from me. May I always recognize that all people are those You have created; all equal, all loved. Help me love others as You have loved me.

True Religion

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For the LORD your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreign resident, giving him food and clothing. You also must love the foreigner, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. – Deuteronomy 10:17-19 (HCSB)

God is more powerful than all, yet He loves everyone and shows great compassion to each one. He is perfectly just and looks at no one as more important than another.

James referenced this verse when He defined true religion in James 1:27. The restatement of this Old Testament principle in the New Testament assures of its importance. We are to care for the orphans and the widows. In this time of war, how many widows are being created daily? How many orphans? To take the point a bit farther, how many single parents do we find in today’s society? I think caring for them certainly qualifies for inclusion in the definition of true religion. When does one cease to be an orphan anyway? What about the homeless man whose family has long since passed away? Is he not also an orphan?

Notice what the latter half of the scripture says; Christ tells us to love foreigners – those from a different country, people group or culture. It’s easy to take care of “our own”. Are we willing to care for those a little different than we are? Speaking again of the war, think how many more widows and orphans are added to the roles each day in Iraq. What about Darfur? Orphans and widows die by the dozens every day. Are we serious enough about following the commands of Christ to reach out there as well?

God does not differentiate by any criteria – not by class, gender or ethnicity. We are commanded to do the same. We must love all people equally without partiality. Christ did it, and He commands us to follow His example. We must take the kingdom wherever there is need.

Lord, forgive my shallowness when I look only to those near me. Broaden my vision that I may see hurting people outside of my comfort zone. Grant me the courage and grace to reach out to them. Fill me with an unquenchable passion for their souls.