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Kindle Notes & Highlights
Sometimes I like being a Christian because I get to be the good guy who fights for righteousness while my enemies stand wicked and unjust.
There’s a curious saying from Jesus that I think about whenever I consider taking on a new cause. “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things” (Matthew 25:21). What are the few things in my life, right here, right now, that God trusts I will use to bring shalom?
Courtney Martin, author of the book Do It Anyway: The New Generation of Activists, points out the power of small and few: “Small is beautiful again. We’re still committed to making broken systems (education, healthcare, prison etc.) more just, but if today, right now, all we can do is make one person’s day within that system more kind, fair, or dignified, we’ll devote ourselves wholeheartedly to it.”
Crisis. Hunger. Unrest. Inequality. All pressed in on them: the brokenness of this world was put on display in a crowd of people in need of bread and the Bread. Until one disciple had eyes to see a small boy and his small offering. Until one disciple married this great need with his knowledge of the greatness of Jesus’ love: “There is a lad here who has five loaves and two small fish.”
“Black people love their children with a kind of obsession,” writes Ta-Nehisi Coates. “You are all we have, and you come to us endangered.”
Because you are white, you need to reject the allure of avoiding the topic altogether to talk instead about sexy husbands, deep calls from Jesus, oppressed women in other countries, patriarchy in the Western church, or tasty recipes. I don’t have that luxury. I engage with the world as a black woman. I live with the reality that if you and I had known each other during the Jim Crow era, my son could have been tortured and murdered for telling your daughter she’s beautiful. If you ignore this, then I’m sorry, honey, but I think your privilege is showing.
I’ve got my Sista Shiva to hold me when I cry. I’ve got my Sista Shock and Awe to help me process my anger in a safe space. My Sista Safekeeper makes sure I value myself and my needs before caring for others. And my Sista Shackle-Breaker keeps me on mission.
N. T. Wright says it best: “The whole point of the kingdom of God is Jesus has come to bear witness to the true truth, which is nonviolent. When God wants to take charge of the world, he doesn’t send in the tanks. He sends in the poor and the meek.”
Can you imagine the impact Jesus’ nonviolent resistance made on that soldier’s life? Can you imagine how he looked into the Savior’s eyes as his ear, bloody and jagged from Peter’s blade, miraculously rejoined his body? Can you imagine the love he found there? The acceptance? The forgiveness? The peace? I can. That’s why I’m compelled be a peacemaker who heals, not just a peacekeeper who defends.
Peacekeeping is a result of our fear. But perfect love casts out fear, so peacemaking flourishes from our love: love for God, love for people, love for the world.
Preston Sprinkle says, “The nonviolent rhythms of the cross meet the melodies of this world with dissonance.”
