When I began my Black History Month series I said I would focus on my heroes of this history, Christian and non-Christian alike. And I did that, but I journeyed into territory I hadn’t planned on: down the roads of my son’s struggle with his identity and my struggle with interracial friendships. The feedback from these stories has been overwhelming. One reader, Nicole Washington, was so moved that her response to My First White Friend was a blog post itself; I decided to post a portion of her testimony in full. As you read, please continue to reflect on your own journeys and those of our ancestors, alive and deceased, that helped us come to terms with seemingly irreconcilable differences. Their fight surely made the difference.

We have so many fears and hesitation to anything that we may have been hurt by, thought we were over or not sure how to process. I had an interesting conversation a few weeks ago with some co-workers and they were saying they pretty much don’t see what’s wrong with the division of racial socializing. I begged to differ. I can’t and never could understand why we as black people harbor some of the same feelings as those that are racist. This is separation that keeps us comfortable and protected or not trying to understand the unknown or different. We disguise it and say things like, “Well, we have to start our own ‘cause the white people won’t let us join theirs.” Where are the Martin Luther King Jr.s of today?! Why are we fearful? Why is it that we don’t show the true heart of the Civil Rights Movement: equality? No race is better or worse. There are a lot of ghetto whites just as there are blacks. It’s a lot of professional blacks as there are whites. I don’t quite get why we have the Dove Awards and the Stellar Awards yet still we try to promote Christian love. If I didn’t know Christ, I’m not sure how quick I would be to believe what we preach.

Now I’m NOT saying that the obvious is not there. Yes, racism still exists on both sides. But the reality is that in Christ we are to put off the old and walk in the newness of Christ by all means necessary and in EVERY area of our lives, especially our greatest fears. Love can’t operate properly if we don’t REJECT what holds us back from experiencing the joys of love and loving people, all people. If we don’t make those moves of reconciliation, fearlessness, and Christian love, we’ll never get pass this “us versus them” mentality and that goes against the very thing we as Christians say we believe.

Nicole Washington, formerly Nicole Parker, is a newlywed, lover of Jesus, and advocate of justice and holiness. Read her full, passionate response in the comments section.

Copyright 2010 by Rhonda J. Smith

“For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Romans 7:19).

Paul capsulized what every Christian feels like when they are struggling to do good. As we struggle, let’s get some mental incentive: Due season may not come if we don’t give due diligence.

If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit(Leviticus 26:1-4).

After reminding them who He was and how they were to relate to Him, God told the Israelites to follow His procedures (statutes), be ready to obey his laws (keep my commandments) and actually do them and then He would give what was needed (rain) at the right time (due season) so they could receive a great harvest.

The good we do must flow from the pages of Scripture, and I believe the beginning of doing good is what He told the Israelites, summed up here: in order to follow the way of God, you must focus on the will and way of God, and then perform the will of God. God has certain ways He wants us to do obey and we can only accomplish His will if we focus on it and how He tells us to do it. There is no room for delayed obedience, partial obedience or reworked obedience (figuring out how to accomplish what God said in the way we want to do it). Due diligence to God’s words must precede due season. But even knowing this, struggle may still be in our sight. We must refocus to help us focus on the right thing.

Thank God that Paul tells us in Romans 8 that we can succeed if we focus on the Holy Spirit and not on our flesh. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to give due diligence, thus planting a seed for our harvest in due season.

Copyright 2010 by Rhonda J. Smith

[We are] troubled on every side, yet not distressed; [we are] perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body (2 Corinthians 4:8-10).

Those scriptures were my battle cry during the delivery of my third child, Justus Emmanuel. Because of God’s faithfulness, Justus defeated death on November 11, 2009:
Threats to Justus’ Life

On Wednesday, November 11, 2009, I gave birth to Justus Emmanuel, my third child and third son. I’ll be busy nurturing him almost exclusively the next few weeks, but I’ll be back. I’m just taking a maternity leave so that I might practice what I preach about the strong black woman not trying to do things (including blogging) in her own strength. Lord willing, I’ll get back to you sooner than later.