Colossians 3:10-11
and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Recently we had the day off for Martin Luther King Jr. day! We enjoy having the day off from work or school, but do we remember the ‘why do we have the day off’ I remember being in elementary school in the 60’s when my teacher told us people in the south were still drinking at different water fountains, and sitting at the back of the bus-if their skin was considered black. I was horrified and I thought about it and brooded about it for days. I never really understood that color depiction either! A coco brown seemed more accurate, though there are people that have a more mocha latte color, and we still call them black. I cannot seem to identify with white either! My wedding dress was white, snow is white, paper is white-my skin is well, beige! If we must be identified as a color, maybe a color chart of brown’s would be more helpful. Just like picking out a paint color in a particular palate for a wall, we would match skin tones in the ‘brown’ chart starting with a very light mocha to a dark chocolate brown. Even on the brown chart, some tones have a yellow or peach or even red undertone that shows through making us all unique, but equal in importance.
I used to think we should not even use a color depiction to identify, but that won’t work. Too many times we just need to say; ‘what is the name of that white girl in the corner with the red hair?’ Especially if she is among darker colored red heads. It is also very helpful when you have seen an accident, or a crime, and you tell the officer; ‘it was the white guy in the green jacket and he had a gun.’ You get it right? At first when I would be chatting with my black friends, I would hesitate to use the color black at all. But, they know they are considered black, right? We know what color we are considered, right? I remember when our son brought home a few friends from college to stay with us for the week-end. As he was introducing each one, he identified them by their color; ‘this is Dave, he’s white’, and continued to introduce them all that way, including Blair, a man from Haiti and he said-‘he’s black!’ I said thank you for the identification, I would not have noticed! All the boys laughed. I just wish we could all laugh about our differences and embrace each other’s sameness.
Recently I learned about an amazing friendship between two men; William Ford III and Matt Lockett. The two men met at a prayer meeting in 2005 and began praying together for race reconciliation in America. They developed a strong friendship over the course of 10 years of praying. Early on in the friendship Matt found out that William had the name ‘Locket’ as he was named after the family that ‘owned’ his ancestors. When the family was freed, they did not want the name of such an evil man that would ‘own’ slaves. They changed it to reflect their new identity. While they were amazed at the similarities in the names, they made no real connection because the difference in the spelling, and they were from two different areas of the country. Matt had 2 t’s in his name-Locket!
Many years later, after Matt did much investigative work on his family tree, he was mortified to find out that his family had owned slaves. And not only owned them, but treated them very badly, even killing some from severe beatings. Now the plot was thickening. After much more research, it was discovered that the family that owned William Ford’s family, was indeed this same Lockett family! Over the years through a clerical error the extra ‘t’ was dropped on the names of the slaves. The Lockett slave owners remember, were very crewel to their slaves, and often beat them to death! Still, the slave family of William Ford III would pray for slavery to end. Praying was an offense punishable by a severe beating. They did not allow that to stop them. They took the kettle used to wash their clothes, turn it upside down, lay down on their tummies on the ground, and prayed for the slavery to end. The kettle muffled their voices and they would pray through the night. William still has that kettle and carries it with him telling their story. They did not even pray under the kettle for their freedom in their generation, but the next generations after them. Of course they would not know that generations later, the slave owner’s descendant, and the slave’s descendant would be friends, and prayer partners for the same subject-race reconciliation! But God knew!
Our great God has insight into the past, the present and the future because He is there already! We need to get caught up with what He is doing in the lives of people. When we go back to look at the re-start of the human race with Noah, his wife, and sons- Ham, Shem and Japeth, we can see that we are all from the same family -human! When you are tempted to have a disparaging thought about another race, remind yourself of William and Matt, and the fact that we are all descendants of Noah! William came face to face with the family that caused such suffering on his own ancestors. He had to turn all the hate over to God, and forgive Matt’s family. Matt, on the other hand, had to come to realization that his own ancestors had done something despicable! And, ask for William’s forgiveness. Now, I ask you, if these two men could forgive, and be forgiven, don’t you think it’s time for the rest of us to become ‘color blind?’
After all, we are all from Noah’s color chart!
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