Parents, these are my people! A few weeks ago, I talked about joining my college cheer squad and I said “these are my people!” They are hyper, loud, enthusiastic encouragers, who may have also been just a little narcissistic (okay, some of us a little more than others). When I joined the cheer squad, for various reasons, I let go of some other groups I was in and didn’t actively seek any new ones. I was comfortable with “my people.” There was a friend on that squad who was our mascot, even before we had an official mascot suit, he was our mic-man who led our cheers and then he was a cheerleader. He was always a vital part of our school spirit team. He was interesting to me, because even though he said of the cheer squad, “these are my people,” he also said that of many other groups he was a part of, it was just who he was. He was comfortable with who he was, regardless of the group. One of those groups was the Student League for Black Culture, did I mention my friend was white... blond hair, blue eyes, kinda unmistakably white. This group had an incredibly talented gospel choir, and when they performed, there, right there in the middle was his shining white face, smiling, singing, swaying, connecting, praising God… You see he never said, “these are not my people,” and the SLBC never said, “he’s not our people.” In spite of the visible differences, they found the ways they were alike in Christ, learned from the ways they were different and they all said, “these are my people!” They belonged to Christ and to His people and so to each other. He says this experience changed his whole perspective on life. This friend is a minister in Georgia now, he will be joining a whole host of pastors around the country of every color, trying to bring some hope and preach in the Name of Love to God’s hurting people this weekend.
God had to affirm to the apostle Peter that the Gospel was for everyone and that it transformed all who belong to Him into a New People. Peter then tells us, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NIV) When we belong to Christ we now say “these are my people,” because we all belong to His People and to each other. Like my friend, we need not be afraid to say, “these are my people,” even if we don’t all look the same. In Christ we are His people, a royal priesthood; we are God’s representatives in a hurting and fallen world, caring for and inviting others to become His People too.
Hang in there people! God is with us! I’m praying for you all!
