“I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

Martin Luther King Junior

I have never had a literal kick in the gut, but I am sure what I felt yesterday was as close as I ever want to get. Our youngest son has been shopping for multiple families with the goal to keep those he loves, who are at higher risk from Covid-19, safe.

I pulled into the driveway and he came out to load the groceries into my car.  I noticed writing on the windows of his van. “Black Lives Matter” and “Black Lives Matter to Jesus.”  And it hit me – I have three grandchildren who are black.  But here’s the thing – when I look at them, I don’t see black children.  I see MY GRANDCHILDREN.

During all of this discord, his eldest asked about the groups on opposing sides of a busy intersection.  “Do they hate me, Daddy?”  How does any parent respond to that kind of question?

So, if you’ll indulge me, I will share my heart.  You can read this or not, agree or not, unfriend me or not, but I hope you’ll hear me out.  I was raised to love Jesus.  And I was raised to love AS Jesus loved.

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Galatians 3: 28 NIV

I have friends and family.  They are not black or white or any other “color”. They are friends and family. 

They are not gay or straight or questioning. They are friends and family.

They are not republicans or democrats. They are friends and family.

They are not rich or poor. They are friends and family.

Do you get the gist?

What I was taught to look at was not the outward appearance or the situation, but at the heart.  If your heart is one of love for others then we are the same.  If your heart is full of bitterness and hate, we probably won’t hang out, but I will still do my best to love you.  That is the way I was raised, and that is the life I choose.

So yes, black lives matter.  White lives matter.  Straight, gay, rich, poor – all lives matter to Jesus, and all lives matter to me.

I pray that I will always be an example of His love. And, if I have in some way shown you something else, please tell me so that I can learn from my mistake and ask for your forgiveness.