A Beautiful Hard Place to Be {what we’ll tell our black son}

You were created exactly how God wanted you. You’re wonderfully made. And we love the color you bring to our life. But sometimes the color of your skin will reveal the brokenness in other people. It will expose fear. The resistance to embrace God’s diversity. The failure to love wholly. The choosing to not understand another. The careless bias toward projected beauty, power and influence.

We’re so sorry for this. We’re sorry that the beautiful hue you bring to this world carries the weight of a heart wrenching history that can only be redeemed through the crimson color of Jesus.

But his blood will make you whole. The Jesus these broken people need is the same Jesus you need to work out your salvation in this land of shattered souls.

You might get hurt out there, but the One who was beaten down and placed with a thorny crown, he’ll cover your wounds with his love.

You might not rise to the top very quickly or not at all, but the One who was raised from death will lift you from humility to the high places of the Father.

You might not be fully welcomed in certain places, by certain people, but the One who was rejected by man will receive you into a life of grace and abundance.

You might have to overcome assumptions attached to your appearance and identity, but the One who wasn’t recognized for who he really was will reveal in you a spirit of truth.

You might have to live in the light with greater intentionality than some, hooded with hope that the One who IS light will illuminate for you paths of righteous.

You might not ever feel fully safe within the laws of our land, but there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Everyone needs to learn how to forgive. But you, my son, might have to be really good at it. Right there in the middle of God’s grace, giving it to others when they don’t show it to you. That’s a beautiful hard place to be. But we’ll be there with you. We’ll be grace givers together. Even when it’s hard. For we can’t change the responses and actions of others. But we can choose to love through these broken realities, and live in ways that color Jesus into this black and white picture of a people in need of a Redeemer.