First Stop, the Cross

For S, and all who suffer injustice.

For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female —for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:26-29

 

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile ill us both to God in one body through the Cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

Ephesians 2:13-17

Dear Child of God, my carissima niece in the Lord,

I am so sorry you are suffering under the cruel blindness of one who judges you by your skin color. Your anger is understandable. Your soul is rising, shouting against discrimination, demanding justice. For you know who you are. You know your true value. You are a child of the King, and Jesus demonstrated your value forever when He gave His life that you would be free from such prejudice. To those who have been set free, bondage is maddening.

Knowing the truth makes the injustice stand out more clearly. I am glad you know the truth about your identity. No ignorance, no blindness, no foolish words can change the truest thing about you: you are loved by God and He knows the plans He has for you, plans to give you hope and a future.

I encourage you, before you respond to your antagonist, first go to the Cross. Take your feelings to God. Cast your cares upon the Lord, for He cares for you. Every raging word, every complaint, every despicable truth you want to shout about the one who rails against you, pour it out in raw honesty at the Cross. God is big enough for all of it. He will not be angry with you. In fact, when you practice stopping first at the Cross, He will give you all you need to rise from the Cross and go back out into this cruel world. He will comfort you. He will help you. He will calm you. He will appoint His peace guardian of your heart and mind. He will release His great power with strength in your inmost parts, and by His Spirit, He will tear down the strongholds that keep your enemy bound in blindness.

His Spirit lives in you, dear one. When you stop first at the Cross, the fruit of the Holy Spirit will guide you in your response to injustice. You will become an instrument of peace. Your gentleness will be known to all and will turn away the wrath of the world. Your kindness will disarm the cruel. Your hope will flabbergast the hopeless. Your joy might make the miserable mad (even as they secretly long for it). Your self-control will convict those with none. Your goodness will display God’s glory, and your faithfulness will inspire the faithless. Your patience will diffuse the passion of the impatient.

Go to the Cross, beloved, and pour out your honest prayer to the One who loves you and calls you His own. Then rise, and respond to the injustice of the world filled with His Spirit, helped by His power, and encouraged by His love. You are an agent of change, empowered by God Himself, who longs to see the eyes of your enemies opened to His love.

Love,
Auntie

 

@audreycfrank

Photo by Rose Galloway Green on Unsplash