Is Unity Among People Realistic?
In a world where skin color seems to always matter, is there a way to deliver the justice, equality, and peace that the “diversity movements” promised, but have been unable to deliver?
The short answer is yes, an emphatic yes in fact. To quote a good friend of mine, Ron Miller, who is a dean in the school of government at Liberty University, “if we place Christ first, racial reconciliation is not only possible, it is inevitable.” This is a powerful statement, one I always thought to be true but was never able to articulate as eloquently as Ron has done. The central idea of God’s message to the world, as evidenced by the life of Jesus, is that a heart and life surrendered to God and one another is the key that opens the mysterious lock of sovereignty which God controls. When we think and act as men and women after God’s own heart, God engages with those who are surrendered as He moves to accomplish His purposes on this earth. And when God moves, the immovable is suddenly mobile, the impenetrable is suddenly porous and the impossible is suddenly possible and in the words of Ron Miller, inevitable. Jesus beautifully demonstrated and revealed to his closest followers in the upper room just hours before his own surrender to the governing authorities, just how surrender worked.
The principle of surrender is powerful, effective, and taken directly out of God’s word; designed to bridge the gaps that often exist between people so that societies can thrive. The No Walls Ministry, located in Lynchburg, Virginia has developed a Unity training program under its Center for Racial Unity to help people better understand the dynamics of race and to explore what surrender looks like in the area of race relations. It is a practical, straightforward, and hands-on approach to building relationships with people that are different from themselves. By helping people get to know one another and encouraging them to engage in life together this program can help anyone who’s truly interested in making a difference in the area of race, to be successful.
There is historically no nut harder to crack than that of race in America. Part of the reason for that is because there is a long, painful, often horrific, and very real history from which all Americans cannot untangle themselves. Another challenge is likely anchored to all the varying views and experiences that individuals have encountered themselves as they journey through life. As a result, there is no “one size fits all” solution that will satisfy everyone’s individual needs or heal their hurts, so the nut hardens with each passing generation.
So, what’s to be done? Can this curse ever be lifted? Can we “demand” our way, as the various “diversity movements” assert, to equality, peace, or mutual satisfaction? Of course not. No one throughout human history has ever “demanded” their way to a lasting and mutually satisfying peace. Nations can’t do it, governments can't it, businesses can’t do it, religious organizations can’t do it, married couples can’t do it and siblings can’t even do it, not because it’s not a reasonable idea, but simply because that is not the way God set it up to operate.
Jesus stands as the Christian’s example. He didn’t “demand” his people get their act together when the wall of division between God and man was being built; no, he (willingly) surrendered himself, unto death. If surrender isn’t done willingly, it really isn’t surrender at all. In the upper room, Jesus models surrender for his people, precisely because it’s not intuitive, reinforcing the idea that surrender doesn’t wait for the recipient to be worthy, but instead initiates, even if not reciprocated, because the real surrender is to God, not man. Surrender involves letting go of a “right’ we may legitimately own, but which we choose not to exercise. This idea is in direct opposition to the world’s encouragement which “demands” that my “right” be heard and satisfied, or there will be no peace until I get mine.
The No Walls Ministry Unity training program teaches the Biblical principle of surrender by using the “reap what we sow” principle as its jumping-off point and stressing the importance of taking the “log out of our own eye, before trying to remove the speck in our neighbor’s eye.” There is a one-day mini-seminar (Introduction to Race Relations 101, Theme - Removing the Log from My Own Eye) for the curious student. But for students that desire a deeper look at the issues of race, we also offer four-week and eight-week small group in-home study programs (Introduction to Race Relations 201, Theme - Reaping What I Sow) and (Introduction to Race Relations 301, Theme – Becoming a Good Samaritan) which builds on previous sessions and dives deeper into issues such as love, fear, truth, trust, justice, and forgiveness from a Biblical perspective and applies them to our world today.
The goal of these meetings is to provide an informal safe setting where group members can share their ideas, experiences and learn from one another. When we generously sow seeds of unity, then water them generously, weed out anything that seeks to encroach, and lastly provide adequate sunlight to those seeds, there is every reason to believe that we will reap what we have sown; the unity between people we so desperately desire, because these principles are the way God intends for His world to operate. To find out more information about the No Walls Ministry go to our website or send me an email.
