Embracing Our Diversity
A word for this season: turning to one another. Recapturing the art of conversation to embrace our diversity and uniqueness.
There are certain aspects that white people find difficult to understand. This is not due to ignorance alone but also to our experience of life. We have not suffered the prejudice that our black neighbours have suffered, whether it be on the school playground, going for a job interview, a place at university or the hostility at the hands of those who have sworn to protect them. When a black leader in the church I lead has to plan his route for a simple walk for fear of being in an area where he could be attacked, and this on a regular basis, I don’t understand because it's not my experience of going for a walk. But it is the result of prejudice.
There is a lot of deep seated pain that lies in the heart of the black community that has been passed down through generations of prejudice and racial abuse by the white community. There are also generations of white people whose prejudice has been perpetrated upon the black community. This has led to an insurmountable wall of division that must be broken down, even if it is one brick at a time.
I believe in my heart that the racial divide is both redeemable and reconcilable through the work of the cross. The cross is still the place where every curse is removed, every sin is covered and every broken heart is healed, no matter how many generations have been affected. The result of this will be restorative healing - which is true justice, bringing healing and reconciliation.
I see the only way for this to take place is as we the white community cross the racial divide in humility and seek to understand the depth of the brokenness and pain in the hearts of our black neighbours. So let us turn to one another and learn again how to hold conversation so that together we can gain an understanding from the experience of each other and remove the racial taboos, the visible racial abuse, the invisible walls of silence and the attitude of "it’s not my problem". It is everyone’s problem and we must all learn new ways to turn again towards each other in love and unconditional acceptance.
This will result in deeper forgiveness, greater reconciliation and a healed community.
Trevor Baker
