Yesterday, Sam and I did what we often enjoy doing on nice warm spring days. We went for a motorcycle ride. Not too far from our home, we saw a man standing alone and stoic holding a cardboard sign. At first, I thought he might be homeless. I registered his presence, because we don’t often see this type of thing where we live. When I got to the stop sign near where the gentleman was standing, I looked to the right to see what his sign said.
At the intersection where people line up to get their Starbucks coffee or their home improvement supplies at the local big box store, his sign said:
“Black lives matter.”
As I made sure I came to a complete stop, both feet on the ground, I nodded my head underneath the weight of my helmet not to mention the weight of why this young black man stood holding the sign in the first place.
I looked his way and held my throttle thumb up signifying (I hoped) my agreement with his message. Black lives DO matter!
In hindsight, I wish I would have lifted the visor on my helmet so he could see into my eyes. We need more human connection. We need to see each other. We need to see each other as HUMAN.
I also think it might have helped the man to see the trickles of tears, genuine tears, that welled up in response. Maybe that would have helped his heart just a little to see there are people in the world who care, who care about every life. Because life is precious. All life.
Sam and I rode, mostly silent. As we did, I believe God was stirring my heart even more about the idea of color and how He might want me to communicate, to add my voice into the mix, as it relates to this very important issue.
At first, I thought about the title, “God Doesn’t See Color”, but that’s not true. He DOES see color. He created it!
God created color.
It reminded me of my high school days when I dated a kid (not yet a man) who is black. He and I had the discussion about race and color, even as kids. Even before I knew Christ, I had this message in my heart. We have to see the color, because it’s there. If we say we don’t see color, that’s not true (unless we’re blind). If we have sight, we can see. I saw this young boy’s color; it just didn’t change my heart toward him. He was still human, a human being with a heart that hurt like mine, a heart capable of love, courage, failure and flaws, goodness and kindness, and genuine pain.
It was a good conversation. One I think we should be having as adults.
To say we don’t see color is a lie. To say we see color and love anyway? That’s how I think God would want us to respond.
God sees color. He created it. He created US, all of US.
We are made in His image. God doesn’t say only some of us are made in His image, some of us that look a certain way, that act a certain way, that respond in our pain and fear a certain way. Black people, white people, Hispanic, Asian, Indian, and on, and on (for this message is inclusive of every color across the globe)─we are all God’s kids made in His image.
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.─Genesis 1:27
If any of us thinks only some were made in God’s image, we are sadly mistaken. We all look like God, whether we are male or female, black or white, or any shade other than the one we assign to the image of God.
We ALL are image bearers of God.
I think about how much it must break God’s heart that we don’t see each other that way (or some of us don’t).
What would the world look like if we began to look at one another as if that were true?
Maybe then some healing could happen. Maybe then reconciliation might take place. Maybe then human dignity would be restored. Maybe then people wouldn’t have to walk in fear because of the color of their skin.
Prejudice does still happen. Fast forward several decades. I dated another man of color. While dating him, I had the unfortunate experience of finding broken glass bottles all over my driveway. More than once. I knew what message someone was trying to send. I’d lived there for a number of years and nothing like that had ever happened until a man of color entered the equation. I didn’t let it phase me and counted it as someone who clearly had issues him or herself to have that much hate in their heart.
God impressed on my heart yesterday how much He LOVES color. He is a creative God full of a rainbow of colors (literally). He loves all hues. Even if you just look at the color green, consider how many varieties there are, and that’s just one color.
God used a rainbow to signify a promise, His promise that never again would He allow flood waters to overcome the world destroying almost everything in its path.
A rainbow of colors was a promise of God’s goodness.
What if every time we saw a rainbow, we thought of God’s goodness at creating such variety in His creation, including His kids?
There are many shades of white. There are many shades of black. Go look at paint options just once. You’ll see what I mean. One shade of white isn’t any better than the other. One shade of black isn’t any better than the other. Neither black nor white is better than the other, just different. Just different. (And in some ways, not different at all.)
King David said in praise to the Lord, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:14 NIV)
God put those words on king David’s heart for each one of us. We are all works of God, wonderful works of God. Do we know that full well?
Our response to God should be praise that He makes each of us unique, beautiful works of art. How bland would a mosaic be if it were all the same color? We need variety to make art interesting.
God created humanity interesting.
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.─Ephesians 2:10 NLT
When we look at another person and see anything less than a masterpiece, we are saying God makes junk. He makes people that are worth more or less than another. That couldn’t be further from the truth! All of God’s children are masterpieces. The ones we agree with and the ones we don’t. The ones we connect with and the ones we don’t. The ones we see ourselves in and the ones we don’t. Because whether we see ourselves in them or not, we should see the image of Creator God in them.
A number of years ago, God took me on a journey to embrace the color yellow. Hang in there with me for a minute. It’s going to seem like I’m going off topic, but I’m not.
I didn’t like the color yellow. If something (anything) had yellow in it, I didn’t think it was pretty. I was more inclined to blues, pinks, and my very favorite─purple.
I had a deep-rooted dislike for yellow. It was justified by exactly nothing other than my personal opinion. Meanwhile, plenty of others love the color yellow.
This had nothing to do with humanity, but it did have to do with God’s creation.
And God wanted to teach me a lesson about FLOWERS, people. Flowers.
For quite awhile every time I would go on a run, I’d see yellow flowers adjacent to my favorite purple flowers. Every time. It was very obvious, because when God wants to teach us something, He goes out of His way to make sure we “get it”.
Without fail a clump of yellow flowers along the side of the road was coupled with purple flowers. In my spirit, I knew what God was saying. He wanted me to recognize the beauty in yellow, so He made sure to match it with something I already thought was beautiful─purple.
He was teaching me that yellow was good, because He made it good.
I thought about why it was that I didn’t care for yellow at the time. (I’ve since embraced yellow because God made it good. Bright. Sunny. Splendorous)
As a child I heard someone in my family repeatedly say they didn’t like yellow. The things I heard shaped my opinion. And this was only about the color of a flower, but I remembered it. There was a subconscious root in my heart that yellow wasn’t pretty.
So if you were raised in an environment where “yellow wasn’t pretty”, I pray God shows you how pretty all the colors are because the hands of the One who made colors made them that way.
And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?─Matthew 6:30 NLT
If God cared so much about the flowers and my love for their colors, how much more certainly does He care for humanity in all its colors?
I think about our response in all of this.
As we consider George Floyd’s life, I wish that’s what we were doing. Considering his life. It was precious. Christ paid a high price just for George Floyd (even as He paid it for you and me).
How can we honor George Floyd’s life? How can we celebrate him as a human being gone way too soon? A man of color whom God made as part of His beautiful mosaic of humanity.
You want to know what I wish? I wish we could hear from George Floyd’s mom and the family about all the things they loved about George. I have friends who have lost children too soon to tragic circumstances, and the one thing I try to intentionally do is ask them about their children. Moms (and families) want to share about the ones they love, especially their children. I don’t think there is a loss more difficult. I’d want George Floyd’s mom to tell me what his favorite bedtime story was as a kid. I’d want her to tell me how old he was when he learned to ride a bike (or even if he did). I’d want George Floyd’s mom to tell me what her favorite memory of her son is or what made her most proud of him. In short, I’d want her to be able to celebrate her son’s life with me. I’d want her to know people who don’t know her, who never knew her son, care about her, care about justice, and want to help her in her grieving process.
I’m not sure looting and vandalizing honor her son. (Although in some odd way I understand fear drives very strange behaviors sometimes.)
What would it look like for the world to honor George Floyd’s life and legacy? What might happen if we looked to learn and heal from this?
It’s a complicated issue, but then I think we make it more complicated than it has to be.
We are called to love, not hate.
What’s love look like? And let’s do that.
Seeking to understand, having conversations that don’t include hate language and violence, making sure everyone is seen and heard, and following after God’s heart for humanity are a few places we could start. If you are a believer, let’s pray. Pray for unity. Pray for understanding. Pray for compassion. Pray as God leads your heart to pray.
A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.─Luke 6:45 NLT
When we find that our heart is not right, we need to present it to the Lord. Ask for His help to align our heart with His.
In these times especially, we need to guard our hearts.
Guard your hearts above all else, for it determines the course of your life.─Proverbs 4:23 NLT
How we respond says more about us than it does anyone else. We need to guard our hearts to walk in the life God wants for each of us. He is a God of unity, peace, harmony, love, compassion, mercy, justice, hope, & healing to name a few of His attributes.
If we look from beginning to end in the bible, we will see God loves color. There is a rainbow over His throne as well as a lot of beautiful imagery in the book of Revelation where color is concerned.
Color exists for all of eternity because God made it that way. He loves color. He uses color to “speak to us” in His word, through art, through life.
What would our world look like if we embraced all the colors in it?
Like, maybe literally embrace. Hug, touch, see, see as human.
What if there were no sides of humanity? Only humanity.
What if George Floyd’s tragic death could teach us that and we loved one another a whole lot better?
I really do hope somehow this ends up in George Floyd’s mama’s hands, because hers is a voice I’d want to hear. I’d want her to tell me about her son. I’d hold her if she’d let me and I’d laugh at the funny memories she had about her son and cry with her over the ones she won’t get to have this side of heaven. I’d want her to share whatever she wanted to tell me about her son, always her little boy no matter what his age─from one mom to another because that’s what humans do. We try our best to comfort one another when we have no idea what to say, and really nothing is going to “make it better”. But I think it does matter and help to know other people care.
So, my friends, let’s care.
QUESTIONS & ACTIONS (Please think on these things. Pray on these things. Let God share His heart and inform our hearts and minds with love.)
- What would the world look like if we began to look at one another as image bearers, all of us made in the image of God?
- What if every time we saw a rainbow, we thought of God’s goodness at creating such variety in His creation, including His kids?
- What would our world look like if we embraced all the colors in it?
- What if there were no sides of humanity? Only humanity.
- How is God asking you to respond?
- How can we honor George Floyd’s life?
- What’s love look like?
- What if George Floyd’s tragic death could teach us that and we loved one another a whole lot better?
About the author: Tracy Stella is a Christ-follower on the journey of life, seeking to see God and His will for her fulfilled on this great adventure. She feels compelled to share the story of God’s hand in her life with the hope that readers will search for and see God at work in their own lives. Jesus writes the greatest story of all. It’s called Redemption for those who are willing to surrender to His love and leading. I pray God continues to write a glorious story in each of your lives. Amen.
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