Do It on Purpose
Michael Posey
There was a family of black children already playing in the hotel swimming pool as Jeff's three children jumped
in. Jeff noticed that almost instinctively the black children moved to a different part of the pool, as if to vacate
this end for the white children. Jeff smiled to himself. A few weeks ago he wouldn't have paid much attention to
this incident but with the teaching from a workshop on racial reconciliation still fresh in his head, he understood
the need to be deliberate in order to destroy racial barriers. He called his son and two daughters over and said,
“Go make friends with those kids.”
Jeff's children looked at him and then eased over and began talking with the other boys and girls and eventually
they began playing together. The children playing together created an excellent avenue for Jeff to use to initiate
a conversation with their parents. Throughout the remainder of their stay at the hotel both families spent much
time together and both families' stays were enhanced by the friendship that developed.
Can you remember seeing or being a participant in an incident similar to the children moving to a different
area of the pool? How did you respond? How did you feel?
If you are a parent what do you think your children would do if you asked them to initiate a friendship with
children of another race?
Pre-Meditations About Reconciliation
Reconciliation takes place when we understand the need to be deliberate, to plan positive actions that promote
reconciliation. We must be willing to take the first step and sometimes the second and third steps as well. There
must be a willingness to go out of our way to develop cross-cultural relationships. Usually a risk factor is involved,
because you are never sure how someone will respond to your actions.
In John 4, Jesus deliberately set out to encounter someone His culture told Him to avoid—a Samaritan woman.
Her gender was wrong. Strike one! Her moral life was worse. Strike two! And her ethnic group was worst of all.
Strike three! Get out of here!
Why do you think Jesus decided that He needed to go through Samaria to get to Galilee? (John 4:3, 4)
How was Jesus “being deliberate” when He
met the Samaritan woman at the well?
What emotions do you think the woman was experiencing when Jesus, a Jew, asked her for a drink? (John 4:7–9)
Explain why you think this was so.
What emotions or thoughts do you tend to have when you have to have close contacts with people of another race?
Why?
In John 4:12 the Samaritan woman identified with Jacob as the father of the Samaritans. Why do you think Jesus
deliberately choose Jacob's well for this encounter with the Samaritan woman?
Kingdom Extra
Human value cannot be equated with race, wealth, social standards, or educational level. To regard a race, group,
or individual as less important than another is sin in view of the fact that Christ died for all people and for
each one in particular. At the foot of the Cross we are equal, both in our worth to God (He sent His Son to die
for each of us) and in our need to accept His gift of salvation. Let us learn to respect and honor every person
and each people regardless of their station or color. Christ said, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least
of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matt. 25:40). [Spirit-Filled Life® Bible (Nashville: Thomas
Nelson Publishers, 1991), 1897, “Kingdom Dynamics: James 2:1–9, Respect of Persons.”]
In John 4:20 the woman tried to pit Samaritans against Jews. How did Jesus handle her challenge? What do you
think He wanted to accomplish with His answer?
John 4:23 and 24 outline the kind of agreement that crosses every line of racial and cultural bias. Fill in
the blanks based on these two verses.
God is ____________________.
True worshipers must worship in ____________________ and ____________________.
How do these truths challenge the pride and suspicion that form the basis of all racial divisions?
Word Wealth
The Greek term for worship had the idea in it of bowing down and kissing the ground. From this came the
general ideas of prostrating oneself, bowing down, showing reverence, worshiping, and adoring. In the New Testament
the word especially denotes homage rendered to God and the ascended Christ. All believers have a one-dimensional
worship directed toward the only Lord and Savior. We do not worship angels, saints, shrines, relics, or ethnicity.
[Ibid., 1967, “Word Wealth: Rev. 4:10, worship.”]
Word Wealth
The Greek word translated truth was a compound made up of a negative prefix and a verb meaning “to be
hidden,” “to escape notice.” “Truth” is the opposite of fictitious, feigned, or false. It denotes veracity, reality,
sincerity, accuracy, integrity, truthfulness, dependability, and propriety. As Jesus used it when talking to the
Samaritan woman at the well, “truth” meant reality stripped of all the confusing traditions of man-made religion.
[Ibid., 1580, “Word Wealth: John 4:24, truth.”]
Faith Alive
Identify two or three occasions on which you were uncomfortable in the presence of people of another ethnic
group. What was it that made you feel disconnected and isolated from them?
1.
2.
3.
After reading how Jesus handled this encounter with the Samaritan woman, how could you have handled these encounters
deliberately and constructively?
1.
2.
3.
For a church to become deliberate in promoting racial reconciliation, people must receive a revelation of the
value of people they may not previously have valued. How did Jesus reveal to His disciples the value of the Samaritans
whom they despised? (John 4:35)
How can you tell when you are treating someone as though they have no value? When did you last do so?
How do you feel about people joining your church who appear to have nothing to offer, but will possibly begin
to drain resources?
What was the fruit of Jesus' deliberate outreach to people of a hated ethnic group? (John 4:39–42)
What positive results can you imagine happening in your community if your church reached out to people ordinarily
ignored or excluded by social pressures?
Color is Everywhere. See It!
In addition to being deliberate about building interracial friendships, we have to know how to be sensitive
to the dynamics between different racial groups. We cannot be color-blind. Many times when talking to people of
different ethnic backgrounds I hear the statement, “I don't see color.” I understand their heart, but I point out
that there are times we need to see color. Almost everyone around us is aware of color. If you are the only Asian
in a room full of blacks, believe me you are aware of color. Seeing color does not translate into racism. It simply
allows you to be sensitive.
Imagine you have to walk to pick up your car from the shop. The shortest route is a busy street straight through
a section of town where there are people of an ethnic background with whom you don't usually associate. There is
a jogging path that is longer, because it goes around this section of town. Some of your friends have advised you
to go the longer way. Which path would you choose? Why?
Let's look at how Jesus responded when this situation presented itself. Read John 4:9–26. What parts of the
story show that Jesus did not ignore that the woman was a Samaritan?
How did Jesus disagree with Samaritan traditions without demeaning the woman's ethnic background or flaunting
His own? (John 4:21–24)
Read John 4:27–42. Both Jesus and His
disciples were conscious of the ethnic lines between them and the Samaritans. How did the disciples' ethnic consciousness
make them insensitive to the spiritual needs of the Samaritans?
How did Jesus' ethnic consciousness make Him more sensitive to the spiritual needs of the Samaritans?
Kingdom Extra
To love the unlovable is to separate ourselves from the world's self-serving kind of love—to share Christ's
love with people who have no apparent ability to return anything at all. Jesus calls us to love as He did—to love
those who finish last, those who are ugly, those who are poor, or who are powerless to help us. This response is
only possible by a supernatural transformation that begets in us a different order of response than is usual to
mankind. When we become better at viewing people through the eyes of God, we find that many people we thought were
unlovable are actually very lovely. It was just our biased ways of seeing that needed to change. [Ibid., 1522,
“Kingdom Dynamics: Luke 6:31–35, God's Love Loves the Unlovable.”]
In contemporary life, how can our color consciousness act either to dull or sharpen our sensitivities to the
emotional and spiritual needs of people of other races with whom we come in contact?
• Dull
• Sharpen
Faith Alive
A young interracial couple renewed their commitments to Christ and became very involved in the ministries of
a predominantly white congregation in a midwestern city. They became involved in discipleship and outreach ministries
of the church. When they wanted to team teach a children's Sunday school class, some white parents objected to
an interracial couple as a model for their children. The church did not let them teach together. What messages
did this church action send?
• To the interracial couple
• To the parents who objected
• To the Lord Jesus
What action do you think the church leadership should have taken in this situation? [The church leadership could
have issued a policy statement affirming the commitment of the church to people of all ethnic groups as worshipers
and as leaders whenever qualified. Leaders should meet with each offended parent in an effort to make peace and
achieve reconciliation.]
What, if anything, would you tell the interracial couple?
What, if anything, would you tell the objecting parents?
Take the Plunge
Like Jeff's children at the swimming pool, you'll never start having an impact on the ethnic and cultural character
of your church until you go over and meet the people of another race who are close by. Talk with your pastor or
a mature Christian friend about what you sense God is leading you to do. Bathe your efforts in prayer. Then go
make some new friends.
Where and when do you have contact with people of other races or cultures?
With whom among these existing contacts could you build a friendship? What would be the most natural way to
initiate social contacts?
How could you reach out beyond your normal social circles to meet people of another race or culture whom you
ordinarily would never meet?
What interests, hobbies, community involvements, or other parts of your life could serve as points of contact
with people of other races or cultures outside your normal circle?
Kingdom Extra
In Leviticus 19:34, God reminds His people that they, who once were foreigners in the land of Egypt, should
above all others remember how it feels to be treated as outsiders. Lesson 1: Remember how rejection feels, and
never manifest it. His further instructions on the treatment of strangers are opposite to normal, worldly standards.
The Lord says that when strangers come into our homes, they are to be treated as “one born among you,” that is,
as blood relatives! Lesson 2: All humanity is one family. Treat others that way. [Spirit-Filled Life® Bible,
172–173, “Kingdom Dynamics: Lev. 19:34, Unselfish Christian Love Toward Strangers.”]
In the space below, write out an action plan you would like to implement in order to build a deliberate friendship
that is sensitive to color and all other differences between you and a person of another race or culture.
From Race & Reconciliation: Healing the Wounds, Winning the
Harvest by Jack W. Hayford with Greg Howse and Michael Posey. Copyright 1996 by Jack W.
Hayford.
