By Caleb Barbier
It hurts my heart to read about the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, the strangling of George Floyd, and the struggles that people of color have to endure simply because of their skin.
I was taught in school that racism was something of the past, that the world has made progress, yet here we are. Another shooting. More bloodshed. Continued injustice. Although we must address racism with urgency, I believe racism reveals something much deeper, something under the surface.
“What would Jesus do?” A famous quote used by many, including Martin Luther King, to encourage believers to contemplate on what Jesus would do if He was there in that specific situation. It begged Christians, and non-Christians alike, to act like Jesus, to be moral and upright.
I’m not saying that’s bad, but I will say that’s not the gospel. Why? Why am I tying this together and what does this movement have to do with anything? Well it’s simple, if we get the gospel wrong, we miss the point. In fact, we missed the point and that is the point.
Racism isn’t something new. Humans have experienced racism since the beginning. It’s not just African Americans, but every race. So how does the problem of racism tie into the gospel?
Well, it reveals the human condition. We are not born indifferent, but as sinners. God is Holy and we deserve nothing more than His wrath. However, there’s good news; Jesus came to save sinners. The gospel heals not only a subsequent effect of the fall, which in this case is racism, but deals with the root of our problems, sin. Jesus became our sin so that we might become His righteousness by faith.
Racism may be only the tip of the iceberg, but it deserves no place in the Christian. Does grace abound? Yes, but to the Christian and non-Christian: Jesus offers hope and restoration.
Barbier is a 2020 high school graduate and is the son of TBMB youth specialist Jay Barbier.
