This month as we celebrate the diversity and multicultural make up of the Church, we are reminded that despite some of these nuances and differences between different cultures, beneath it all we are all the same race - The human race.
Act 17:26 tells that God “hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.”
Regardless of skin colour, language, facial or bodily features, scripture declares that we are of one blood, one man and one Creator. That places us in one family with all men. Unfortunately, we live in a world that is dominated by racial divides and tribalism that segregates one from another based on some of those surface differences. Violence and wars have covered the history of mankind mainly because man has used the distinctions as a point of conflict.
However, this was never God’s intention. At the heart of man’s conflict towards his fellow man is really the sin of hatred towards his brother. This was evident in the first family with Cain murdering his own brother Abel. Ever since, man has been tainted with the same nature and the cultural and racial differences seem to be the obvious choice by which they base their hatred. It is very easy to see the difference in someone’s language, cultural traits, habits and looks, and use that to ostracise and look down on someone.
In the same way that God made all nations of one blood, by the blood of Jesus Christ we are brought into God’s family and the sin nature in us that gives rise to prejudices and racism can be removed and replaced with a heart of love and acceptance for all. When God gives us a new nature by virtue of his Holy Spirit, the nature of hatred and arrogance is removed and we exercise compassion and empathy. We can love like Jesus loved because his great commission is to make disciples of All Nations (Matt 28:19).