"Red and Yellow, Black and White"

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What does it mean when there's a big tent set up behind your church and everything is decorated to look like a cave? Why, it's Vacation Bible School time, of course! Every night we had right around 20 preschoolers (ages 3-5) for 3 hours in a tent! As the week went on , I was given the nickname "Miss Teacher"; appropriately so, as I was co-teaching the class. It was a wonderful experience and I was blessed to be a part of it. 

Now you didn't ask, but I'm sure you were wondering- what color were the children I was ministering to? For some reason that's the hot topic of today. Color, color, color. 

I go to a biracial church and our VBS was very much biracial as well. I had children of every shade jumping and singing and laughing and playing around me all week long. I watched these very diverse children. I really watched them, and you know what? One shade never acted more superior than another. There was never a hesitation when one went to hold another's hand. Not one child looked at another with anything but innocence and friendship. Yes, I taught children that had a darker skin than others, and I taught children that had a lighter skin than others; but their laughter didn't change by the shade of their skin. Their smile didn't reflect their melanin levels. The joy in their eyes as we played "Duck, duck, goose" didn't vary from skin color to skin color. They were all beautiful children having fun together. 

Why was this, you ask? Why didn't the children have to set aside their protest signs before sitting at our table? Why didn't all 20 of my little pupils break out into a riot over someone's stupid comment? Why were they writing their names on their coloring paper instead of some trending hashtag? Because, my friends, that kind of hatred, the kind that we all are seeing prevalent today, is a learned behavior- those kiddos haven't learned it, yet. 

My dad has this saying, "Darkness doesn't mind darkness." What he means by this is that this world is a wicked place. It's full of sin. The prince of this world, Satan, roams around seeking to kill, steal and destroy. {John 10:10} Satan is perfectly fine with making the already dark world an even darker place. That darkness doesn't even have to make logical sense, like many of the issues we're facing today. As long as it benefits Satan's objectives, it's a go. This whole racial division in our Nation is a huge example of darkness getting darker; and I'm afraid that many are allowing themselves to be the pawns. 

It's sad really. Satan is so good at blinding people by his schemes that many don't realize that they're involved in it. It's one thing if you're not a part of God's family- if you're not saved, because you are a prisoner of that darkness already. You've never seen the Light of Christ, so you don't recognize the dark. It's a "Darkness doesn't mind darkness" sort-of thing.

It's another thing entirely if you do claim to be saved. If you've seen Christ, if you've felt His love and experienced His light, then you have absolutely no right to add to the darkness! No matter how socially acceptable, no matter how justified, we, as the Christians, should NEVER be amongst the crowd of wrongful division; especially when the children are watching- and they're always watching. 

They're watching you. They're watching me. They're watching- period. And they were watching through that whole week of VBS. The fourth night's VBS held the theme of "Jesus gives us love." As leaders, during closing time, we were to go up to each child, get down eye-to-eye with them,  and tell that that Jesus loves them. I did this with each of the children within arm's reach. Each time I would say their name and ask them "did you know that Jesus loves you?" I probably did this with six or seven children; and one by one they would shake their little heads "no." No, they didn't know that Jesus loves them. My heart broke a little more with each confused stare. 

People, we're missing the mark!  We, as the body of Christ, are not hitting our target. We are so busy getting caught up with the things of this world- things like who's being discriminated against now or what we're gonna be offended by this minute, that we are completely, and intentionally, ignoring our main objective. That objective being to tell the children that Jesus loves them- to tell everyone that for that matter! Our children don't have to go searching for people screaming #Blacklivesmatter, so they CERTAINLY shouldn't have to go searching for people whispering "Jesus loves you." 

Stop it! Stop being so self-centered  on color and status and what everybody else is doing and think about what you're doing! This whole thing does matter. It is a big deal. It's a big deal that we are allowing this nation's children to lay in bed at night knowing that there is physical division everywhere they look- that there is literal turmoil tearing apart their world, but not knowing that Jesus, the very God who made them and died to save their souls LOVES them! 

Back down with the hashtags and step up with Jesus's love. 

On the final night of our VBS week I gathered all my sugared-up kiddos and we sat down on the mat. They sat, quietly for a surprisingly long moment and watched me, I took that moment to look across the sea of varying skin tones and I smiled. They are all so beautiful. I knew that Someone else thought so too, and I began to sing. 

"Jesus loves the little children-

All the children of the world:

Red and yellow, black and white-

They are precious in His sight. 

Jesus loves the little children of the world."

I sang all by myself at first, the children just looking cautiously at one another; but one by one they would smile and join in. By the third time of singing that same song the entire tent, with its 20+ bodies of both dark and light skin, was singing with one unified voice. You know why? Because Jesus truly does love the Red, yellow, black, white, olive, tan, and whathaveyou children of the world; and because love truly does drive out hate. I don't mean that peace and 'coexist' type of love that society is poisoning us with either. No. But Jesus's love... Yeah, Jesus's love is powerful stuff- powerful for all skin tones. We should all be thankful for that. 

"9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language,standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”" {Revelation 7:9-10}