We have been down South this week on Family vacation and we shopped in a local market. What a beautiful sight! There were red, yellow, green, orange and some mixed colors of peppers. The diversity of color surprised me. In my gardening days I had never planted this variety mix. They all tasted alike, the beauty was in the mixture of color.
I could not escape thinking that God must feel this way when He looks at His human family living in unity. “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity. It is like precious oil poured on the head.” (Psalm 133:1) What a pleasant and refreshing experience when different races and nationalities get together in unity.
Color is no barrier when you look at people from God’s point of view. Surely a little pigmentation in the epidermis (our outer layer of skin) is not a barrier to oneness. It’s so thin! And so easily stripped away if that is your problem. We all look the same under that layer.
The Bible presents a world view: “God created man in his own image” (Genesis 1:27) is describing the whole human family. God doesn’t have a favorite color. In the famous verse of John 3:16, we are told, “For God so loved the world”, the whole of humanity. I once heard someone say that Christians should be color-blind. I don’t agree! God wants us to look at one another and appreciate how he made us; different colors and customs and costumes all making up a beautiful tapestry.
Our cultures and environments teach us to be suspicious and fearful of those who are different. That must be challenged and overcome.
Can we make this the generation that will read the Bible and accept the message as it is and not filter it through our cultural biases? Christian love breaks down racial barriers.
“Dear Father of us all, help us to see with new eyes of wonder and acceptance
the family of mankind that You have created. Amen”
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