Saturday: I Believe the Bible, All Except . . .
WEEK 10
SATURDAY
I BELIEVE THE BIBLE, ALL EXCEPT . . .
Luke 13:28-30
God didn’t argue the equal worth of all races before him. God did something more profound and gave to all races the same gift, the gift of the Holy Spirit. That simple fact did more to abolish race prejudices and distinctions than all the exhortations of moralists and the disquisitions of philosophers put together. It was a fact that couldn’t be argued. It had to be accepted—or rejected, saying God was wrong. Some do. A friend from India was speaking in America and quoted the passage “[God] hath made of one blood all nations” (Acts 17:26 KJV). A man arose and said: “I believe the Bible—all except that verse.”
Some accept the fact of the gift of the Holy Spirit to all races equally where they seek the gift, but dull the edge of the fact by saying in effect, “Yes, God does give the same gift of the Holy Spirit to all regardless, but it is a spiritual fact and has no social consequences.” But this spiritual fact did, and does, have social consequences. One social consequence is that we enjoy the benefits of a Christian civilization instead of following pagan gods and sitting in pagan darkness; for the coming of the Spirit on Gentiles opened the door for the preaching of the gospel to us Gentiles and pushed the disciples through that open door!
An African American pastor said after one of my addresses: “He has time for the whitest and the blackest, and there is no difference. He says the same thing to white audiences he says to us.” Why not? God was saying the same thing to both; why shouldn’t I?
The facts, not arguments, are driving us into new attitudes. And the facts tell us that the brain and soul of humanity are one; that given the same stimulus and the same incentive, the brain and soul of every race will come out about the same; that therefore there are no permanently inferior races and no permanently superior races, only developed races and undeveloped races.
God knew what he was doing in giving the Holy Spirit equally to all, for down underneath is one basic humanity modified slightly by environment.
O God, my Lord, when I think of all this, hope springs up within my breast. When we are dreaming of a world community, it is not an idle dream; it is a possibility. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: If humanity is one down underneath, I will help to make it openly one.