Can A Race War Be Prevented?

Yesterday’s events in Roanoke, Virginia seem to be one more step in a serious of events leading our country toward all out race war.  While we’d like to believe something like that would never happen here, it is difficult to when you look at the 100 or so ethnic conflicts taking place in our world right now (ethnic-conflict.com).

Dylan Roof, the mass murderer of the Charlottesville Nine and Vester Flannigan both stated their desire that their actions would bring about a race war. In a fax send to ABC News Flannigan wrote, "As for Dylann Roof? You (deleted)! You want a race war (deleted)? BRING IT THEN YOU WHITE (deleted)!!!" the document reportedly said.

So what are believers in Jesus Christ to do right now? Well, not go on with life as usual- that’s for sure! It’s time to be shaken out of our complacency and into some serious action.  Personally, I am not sure if a race war can be prevented at this point in time.  The steps we take now, may be a few decades too late.  That does not mean that we should not try.  At the very minimum, we need to make sure the church of Jesus Christ is not dragged into it. 

Here are some thoughts, please feel free to add yours:

We need to build serious cross-cultural/ cross-racial relationship NOW!  Get out of your comfort zone and out of your building and connect with other leaders in your community.  Don’t know what to say? How about, “Hey, this country’s heading into some seriously bad places and we, the people of God need to come together and work through whatever we need to so that we can be God’s people united in this place NOW! 

Call for and participate in times of prayer and intercession. “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10”3-5).  We are fighting strongholds in our own and others minds.  “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7”14).  Our land needs healing. We need to pray and we need to do it together.

As always, we need to take ourselves back to the cross and again ask our Lord to search our hearts, reveal the sin and the strongholds which are probably present, and repent.  Nothing will happen in our land that does not happen first in our hearts.

So friends, it’s time to get real with our Lord, ourselves and with each other.  It’s time to look around and pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It’s time to be the answer to our own prayers.