Genesis 1:27-28a
So God created humankind in His own image,
in the image of God He created them;
male and female He created them.
And God blessed them.
To say there has been unrest this past week would be a vulgar understatement. People all over America and the world took to the streets to express the frustration of being unheard, disbelieved, and ignored. It is all too easy to ignore systemic problems when the system still works for you, and no one in your orbit is affected. As Christians it is our responsibility to encourage people, to lighten their load because we know, believe, and celebrate that every human is an image bearer of the God of the universe.
Often, we are aware of oppression taking place, but we think, “If I keep my head down and my mouth shut, they won’t bother me, and if it doesn’t bother me then it probably doesn’t REALLY bother anyone.” This mindset enables oppression to go on unchecked.
When you follow Christ, you are a new creation; your sins are forgiven, and you recognize that everyone is an image-bearer. Ezekiel 36:26-27 says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”
Cruelty to anyone should break our hearts. How are you using your heart of flesh to be kinder and more compassionate to your fellow image-bearer? Do you callously watch the news and think that is terrible for those people, or are you filled with righteous anger that we are not living up to the potential the spirit inside us has given?
It is easy to be compassionate when disasters happen in far off places. We can assuage our guilt or fear by throwing a few bucks at relief organizations or a GoFundMe. However, when it is happening to our neighbors the rubber meets the road and we need to act. Act as if this is happening to your brother, your father, your son, your sister, your mother, your daughter. God created humankind as image-bearers. See one another.
There are a lot of big questions being asked right now, and it is up to people (you and me) to push the world in the right direction. Faith in an elephant or donkey to solve the world’s problems will only leave us arguing about who caused the mess. As Christians we must be willing to do the hard work of building community from the ground up and expanding the people we allow in our orbit.
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” – Desmond Tutu