Making space

 

I shared this picture a while ago on my Facebook page and said that maybe later I would share the thoughts behind it. So here goes:

These words are certainly true on an individual level in our own lives, but that’s not where my heart and mind were when I wrote them. I wrote these words after we discussed the first chapter of The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism. This book examines the history of the church in the United States and the ways that it has enabled racism both actively and passively.

This isn’t the first book I have read on this topic. I also recently read Be the Bridge: Pursuing God’s Heart for Racial Reconciliation. As I’m reading these books and learning more about our history, I am left wondering what we are losing by burying it instead of acknowledging, repenting, and reconciling from it. That is my heart behind these words:

There is no redemption without mess.

There is no miracle without brokenness.

There is no resurrection without death.  

Imperfection makes space for grace.

Our history is messy and complicated. Part of the problem is that we do not even know our own history. I am appalled by the number of things I am reading The Color of Compromise that I did not know before as well as the things that I heard about but never thought about the ramifications. I own that and I’m working on it.

Learning our history doesn’t have to be about blame and guilt. The truth is none of us were alive making these decisions. But knowing this history is important. We can grieve the mistakes in our history without feeling guilty for the decisions of our ancestors. We can own that we have benefited from unfair systems without taking blame for the creation of those systems. And then we can work to change these systems to make them more just.

Even as I learn the messy, heartbreaking, awful truths that are part of our history (and yes – there are beautiful parts of our history too), I believe with every fiber of my being God can redeem even this. Yet for redemption to happen we must wrestle with reality. There is a reason the first step in a 12 step program is admitting the problem. People were coming to Jesus all the time with their brokenness. They acknowledged they had problems bigger than they could handle. The lame, the blind, the lepers, the woman who had been bleeding, the gospels are full of story after story of people recognizing their brokenness, bringing it to Jesus, and being healed.

It does mean that things will change. We cannot be healed and stay the same. And it’s ok to feel grief in that process. I think about the story of Lazarus dying. Even knowing that he was going to bring Lazarus back to life, Jesus wept. Even knowing that resurrection and healing are better than where we are, we may need to grieve for life as we know it now. That’s ok. Change brings up all sorts of feelings for all of us. But when we stay in the broken ignoring or denying the brokenness, when we don’t let things that aren't working die, when we pretend things are perfect and not messy, we keep other people created in the image of God in positions that are not safe for them, and we miss the opportunity for grace to do its work, for miracles, resurrection, and redemption. 

In the introduction to The Color of Compromise,  Lecrae writes, “As Christians, when we read the Bible, we recognize that events that happened thousands of years ago are still relevant today. We also see that Scripture never hides the ugly parts of history when it comes to the people of God. The Bible reveals David’s adultery, Jonah’s selfishness, and Peter’s failure of faith.” Let’s acknowledge that the church is not perfect. The church is made of messy, broken, imperfect people and that includes us. And it is a messy, broken, imperfect human organization. The church is not perfect. That doesn’t change that I love it. And because I love it, I want it to be better, and will work to make it so. And I believe the same for our nation. We can do better. We must do better. And I am committed to being part of the solution.