As I sit at my computer this Sunday morning, at least thirty cities across America are convulsed by rioting on account of the unconscionable murder of one George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota—an African-American man killed for no reason by a white police officer sworn to protect his rights even—especially—if his detainment by law enforcement is considered warranted.
The toll of arrested and slain from these disturbances increases as I trace these lines.
America is a unique experiment in the human story, its diverse ethnic composition never previously found in any other society in history. Assimilating the numerous racial strains of humanity has been a persistent challenge for the United States of America. In the case of those Americans of African descent, the tensions have been especially high, as these represent the only skein in the American racial tapestry that was brought to these shores against its will.
William Doyle, in his breathtaking account of the integration of the University of Mississippi in the fall of 1962, describes the United States as “a nation often poisoned by racism” [1]. That has been a key feature of the price of the American experiment. It is an evil that the goodhearted of our land still strive to conquer.
But the price remains high and painful.
The Ministry of Reconciliation
Violence, of course, is never the solution to a problem such as this. Violence merely serves to poison the chalice we share as a united people, begetting more of the same as the aggrieved parties persist in inflicting greater and multiplied pains on those they believe to have wronged them. What is more, violent protests cannot touch the heart in the way non-violent resistance to hurtful circumstances can. And if a protest against wrong fails to touch the heart, it will likely fail altogether.
God’s remnant people have a unique and compelling task in the presence crisis—to be instruments of justice, peace, and reconciliation. Though we are all sinners in need of the pardoning and cleansing blood of our Lord, we cannot pretend that guilt in the present racial divide in our land is equal on all sides. After all, those dragged to America in chains and on slave ships had no choice in the matter. But regardless of the degree of guilt among those in the present conflict, those commissioned to deliver God’s last message to humanity in the final hours of history must summon the human family to an atonement (reconciliation) that—while acknowledging former and present wrongs wherever found—will subordinate racial identity of every kind to the eternal purpose of a God seeking to purify a people from every defilement, including racism, and to at last bring the controversy between good and evil to an end.
The leadership of the North American Division has published a needful and practical statement in response to the recent events in which, which I and others of our ministry team recommend to all [2].
The apostle Paul writes of “the ministry of reconciliation” (II Cor. 5:18), divinely entrusted to the believer on account of our reconciliation with God through the relinquishing of sin (Col. 1:20-23), made possible by the death of Jesus (Rom. 5:10). Reconciliation with God is dependent on humanity’s divinely-empowered conquest of evil, including racial hostility. Without conversion and sanctification, without a willingness to forgive those who have wronged us, we cannot ourselves be forgiven for our own sins by our Father in heaven (Matt. 6:14-15).
Conclusion—Flames Over Minneapolis
Watching the flames rise over the city of Minneapolis during the past few days, I couldn’t help thinking of another set of flames that rose over the same city more than 130 years ago, when God introduced a revival to the Seventh-day Adventist Church on the subject of righteousness by faith. The dual plague of disease and intolerance ripping America apart just now is yet another sign that the revival God sought from His end-time church did not fulfill the divine purpose, and that consequently, we’ve been in this world too long.
Jesus still waits for a perfected people whose love for Him and for each other will vanquish racism and every other sin in the lives of those who accept His saving grace. When that happens, another fire will be kindled, one that will heal the brokenhearted and bring deliverance to Satan’s captives (Luke 4:16). The awesome glory of this character demonstration is depicted by Ellen White in the following prophecy:
The church, being endowed with the righteousness of Christ, is His depository, in which the wealth of His mercy, His love, His grace, is to appear in full and final display. . . . The gift of His Holy Spirit, rich, full, and abundant, is to be to His church as an encompassing wall of fire, which the powers of hell shall not prevail against. In their untainted purity and spotless perfection, Christ looks upon His people as the reward of all His suffering, His humiliation, and His love, and the supplement of His glory [3].
This is the demonstration in which we all—regardless of race, ethnicity, or national origin—must strive by God’s grace to participate.
REFERENCES
1. William Doyle, An American Insurrection: The Battle of Oxford, Mississippi, 1962 (New York: Doubleday, 2001), p. 3.
2. “NAD Issues Response to Recent Deaths and Racial Turmoil,” North American Division, May 29, 2020 https://www.nadadventist.org/news/nad-issues-response-recent-deaths-and-racial-turmoil
3. Ellen G. White, Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 18-19.
Pastor Kevin Paulson holds a Bachelor’s degree in theology from Pacific Union College, a Master of Arts in systematic theology from Loma Linda University, and a Master of Divinity from the SDA Theological Seminary at Andrews University. He served the Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists for ten years as a Bible instructor, evangelist, and local pastor. He writes regularly for Liberty magazine and does script writing for various evangelistic ministries within the denomination. He continues to hold evangelistic and revival meetings throughout the North American Division and beyond, and is a sought-after seminar speaker relative to current issues in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He presently resides in Berrien Springs, Michigan