Part one of a four-part series on The Gospel and Race written by Grace Mosaic Elder Kenny Gibbs.

God’s mission is one of reconciliation.  In Christ, God reconciled us to Himself.  He’s taken us from death to life, and from being His enemies to His children. Further, Christ is in the process of reconciling all things to Himself.  Thus to be people of Jesus is to be a people of gospel reconciliation – bringing things to their proper kingdom order and fullness.

At the same time, I don’t generally believe in American conversations about “racial reconciliation.” Racial categories in America were created for the purpose of  “deconciling” (i.e. breaking apart) people from various ethnic backgrounds, and to subjugate Black and Indigenous peoples to those of European ancestry. Sadly, American churches remain largely segregated, and a significant proportion of Americans who identify as Christian support public policies that are harsh and exclusionary toward fellow image bearers (especially those with brown skin) seeking to come to the U.S. from other nations.

My heart is burdened that so many people who call on the name of Jesus support dialogues, policies and practices that mar the image of God – especially (but not exclusively) in ethnic minority populations.   In Christ, God has broken down the dividing wall of hostility between the various peoples who make up the church, making former enemies brothers and sisters. Further, God is calling people from every nation, tribe, people group and language unto Himself. Thus, I press on for the gospel reconciliation that God won for us.