A Messy Way Forward

Our country is in a mess. We are in great need of healing, of reconciliation.

A messy, humbling, slow way forward seems to be what the Holy Spirit is whispering in my ear – softly, but persistently. It is the way of confession, it is the way of repentance; it is the way of seeking forgiveness; it is the way of considering others over myself.

Some in the church will say, “I am not racist. I am not a bigot. None of my ancestors ever owned a slave. Why should I seek forgiveness?”

For my answer, I turn to the example of three Old Testament men of faith: Jeremiah, Ezra, and Nehemiah. In Jeremiah 14:20 the prophet prays, “We acknowledge our wickedness, LORD, and the guilt of our ancestors; we have indeed sinned against you.” Ezra prays in Ezra 9:6, “…and I said, “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens. ⁷ Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt.”

I am most moved by the example and words of Nehemiah.

“When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.  I said, “I beseech You, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father’s house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. (Nehemiah 1:4-7 – emphasis mine)

I am moved, because Nehemiah was not actively disobeying. He was doing good things. But he identified with the sin of his people. He took ownership of not just his own errors, but the errors of his ancestors, the sin of his nation.

The greatest example of this identification with sinners is our Lord Himself. He took on flesh and carried my sin to the cross. He paid the price for my sin. He brought about reconciliation.

Until there is reconciliation in the church, there will never be reconciliation in our country. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (emphasis mine) I need to humble myself. I need to seek God’s face. I need to turn from my wicked ways.

And so here is my way forward.

1) I will choose to identify with the sins of my ancestors. I will not try to justify the wrongs. I will seek God’s forgiveness for this sin.

2) I will not ignore or be quick to justify the offensive words and actions of my family, friends, and acquaintances, but I will gently point out the things that are hurtful toward others.

3) I will stop myself when I start to think, “Just get over it. You shouldn’t feel that way.”

And finally,

4) I will give my friends of other ethnicities permission to point out to me the things I say or do that are offensive. And when they do, I will not justify myself, but I will ask forgiveness.

I am challenging all of my friends to do the same. This straight crooked path is messy, but God promises that He will hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land.