Let’s continue thinking about racial unrest.

I wrote similar notes to two friends, both African-American, both in Christian ministry. I asked how they were, lamented the tough times we’re in, and observed that things don’t seem to be getting better. 

One friend speaks at marriage retreats all over the country and also works with companies on racial reconciliation issues. This is his medium-depressing response:

Thanks so much for reaching out to us. These aren’t tough times in America. This is everyday life for black men in America. This is not new, videos now make it possible for whites to see what blacks have been and will continue to face since slavery. No things aren’t getting any better.

What to do? The problem seems enormous, which is precisely what Seth Godin (I don’t know if he’s a believer or not) shared this morning:

When a problem appears too large, too intractable and too unspeakable to deal with, it’s easy to give up. There never seems to be enough time, enough resources or enough money to make the big problems go away. Perhaps we can start with a very small part of it. One person, one opportunity, one connection. Drip by drip, with commitment. Those are the two hard parts. The insight to do it drip by drip and the persistence to commit to it. –Seth Godin, June 3, 2020

Drip by drip with commitment. That’s precisely what my other friend said. He and I go back a long way. He and his wife, with June and me, drove through downtown Atlanta back in the late 1960s. We got some stares. In some ways things don’t seem to have changed. He lives in Atlanta now, and this was his response:

It’s a very very tough journey and we need as many people  as possible talking about Depth in Christ and living out the gospel every single day with everyone we meet. 

I alluded to this idea briefly on Monday: racial reconciliation is a God-sized task, but here’s the solution: a deep relationship with Jesus and living out the gospel every single day with everyone we meet.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22.36 – 39, NIV)