The NFL ranks have drawn a great deal of attention in regards to the injustices that have been prevalent across the landscape of our great nation. Mar-key players such as Colin Kaepernick, Arian Foster, Brandon Marshall (DEN), and the likes have taken a stand, or rather a kneel, to bring forth awareness to the inconsistencies that have plagued our law enforcement as well as our judicial system. Their influence have stretched to the likes of college and high school athletes. The social tensions have been felt between both young and old. Inequality and racism has been a constant theme threaded across the historical narrative of America, and the expression of oppression continues to find its footing in our current day and age. The necessity to address such matters is clear and poignant, but how do believers engage in social justices in order to make light of the Gospel? How do believers embark in the tension while keeping the truth of the Gospel at the forefront? How is the church to think through these epidemics and be an agent of hope for a broken world?Resolution:
The appeal that most secular socialist have taken is to heighten awareness and to educate on diversity in hopes of counteracting the injustices that are infecting our streets, homes, and neighborhoods. The remedy is easily infused by a committed stance to enlighten both sides in regards to the differences and similarity shared in order to exemplify a harmonious existence. There are essential truths that must be embraced by this particular pledge, but the undergirding dilemma that is being negated in light of the well-intended effort is clear—sin.
Insufficient for Long-Term Change:
The quandary in which we find ourself in has an innate linkage to the depravity that is rooted in our human existence. The long-term trajectory of restoration cannot be accommodated by humanistic strategies, because the battle that is being forged is spiritual. We can not seek for transformation by mere modification! Not that awareness or education are inherently wrong for they are necessary to a certain extent, but they will not remedy the inner depravity that drives the human inclination to serve the self despite the deterioration of the whole. Only the cross of Christ can usurp that! It is in the illuminating work of the cross where the Apostle Paul charges the believers by saying,So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others (Phil 2:1-4).As the church, we must be aware of the overarching narrative that is being expressed through the social movements. We must understand the social development in light of the redemptive formula that has been revealed to us through the Scriptural text. If we are to be of any assistance to our community, nation, and the world we must root ourselves in the biblical narrative understanding that Jesus Christ is the climatic figure of hope. All of our redemptive and restorative hope, then, is centered in what Christ has accomplished for us on the cross and through His resurrection. The social dilemmas that we face are not contrary to the spiritual dilemma, but rather are grounded as Gospel-issues.
A Longing for Eden:
The paradoxical tension that we find ourselves in outside of Christ is an intrinsic desire to connect with the Creator (Rom. 1:21), and yet due to sin we "suppress [that] truth" (Rom. 1:18). In part, there is an innate longing for perfection and idealism that marks humanity's desires. This is played out within history through the search for an utopian existence in one form or another. Yet what is not grasped is that humanity cannot obtain such idealistic realities outside the rulership and reign of God. Those cravings point back toward God's fingerprint within the creative order.
This innate longing is still apparent within the brokenness of humanity. It was formed into the very fabric of mankind to live in perfect harmony with God. The creation narrative is clear that Eden was the canvas in which God created Adam for work. Adam and Eve were to be God's representatives within the creative design in order to display His reign and rule. Sin interrupted this perfect domain, but the desire for Eden continues to remain.
The Remedy in the Cross:
The utopian existence felt within the internal desire of the heart is grounded in the person of Christ Jesus who will bring forth the "new heaven and [the] new earth" (Rev. 21:1). The desirous aim for a harmonious unity between the brotherhood of humanity is personified in the God-man Jesus Christ who reconciles us, first, to our Creator and, secondly, to one another. The heinous outpour of racial tension coupled with the gratuitous governmental debacle is crying out for Gospel restoration. The world is crying out for a Savior regardless if they know it or not. Will the church become aware of the signs?
The church is to be the beckon of hope which holds high the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In doing so, the church must participate in being a unifying agent which bleeds forth Gospel blood. The assembly of saints must work hard, then, to embrace the truth that God in Christ Jesus "has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility" (Eph. 2:14). When the Gospel transforms the landscape of our indigenous assemblies, we can become a mouth piece of God's redemptive plan. When all nations come under the rulership and authority of Christ, it will be a testament to His saving work in fulfilling all His promises that "all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Gen. 12:3). Harmonious union can only be obtain through the Gospel. Will the church acknowledge, equip, and empower her people to be agents of change in a society longing for redemption?
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McYoung Yang is the husband to Debbie Yang and the father to McCayden (8), McCoy (6), McColsen (4), and DeYoung (1). He graduated from Crown College in Saint Bonifacius, MN with a Youth Ministry degree and has served as a Youth Pastor in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota for over 8 years. He is currently studying at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY for his Masters of Divinity. He hopes to use his training to serve the local church in living life through the Gospel lens.
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