Through an act of God’s miraculous grace, I (Pastor Dishon) was blessed to spend two hours with Dr. John M. Perkins. Dr. Perkins is a civil rights leader, counselor to six presidents, community developer, pastor, and prophet. I also got to drive a really nice BMW, as you can see! I cannot fully describe my time with Dr. Perkins except to say that I could almost physically feel my soul being stirred. In his voice, I heard God’s call for justice and the struggle for the dehumanized to be recognized as those made in the image of God. At one point, we were sitting together listening to a renowned Christian thinker explaining a disturbing new division in the body of Christ. Dr. Perkins, who was around 90 at the time, was having trouble hearing the speaker. He leaned over and asked me, “Did he tell them? Did he tell them that the answer is love?” His words will never leave me. We have just begun Black History Month and I must admit that I struggle with heritage months. While they are important and, unfortunately, necessary, it seems like they may pacify us and keep us from seeking answers to deeper questions. Why does it seem like the history of some people groups are more important than others? Why are names like Angela Davis, W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, Ralph Ellison, and Fannie Lou Hamer often absent from the retelling of the story of America? Why don’t most of us know the names of Christians who fought for justice like Fred Korematsu, Richard Twiss, Shi Meiyu, and Cesar Chavez? I may not know all the answers to these questions, but Dr. Perkins pointed me in the right direction. The solution is love. As we observe Black History Month and the other heritage months, let them be reminders to love. Let them be reminders that learning the story of our neighbor helps us love them better. Let them be reminders to learn our own stories so we can see God’s faithfulness and love him more. It’s all about love. It’s all about God.
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