The Many Colors of God
Have you ever had a friend that you thought you knew pretty well, when all of the sudden you learned something fascinating about them that you never knew?
It’s like going over to a friend’s house and seeing a remarkable painting on the wall. “Where did you get this?” you ask. “Oh, I painted that,” she replies, to which you realize that your friend loves to paint and you simply never knew it. So your friend shows you more of her work, and its fantastic, and you feel as if you’ve been let in on a sacred and beautiful part of your friend’s heart. You know her better because of it, and you admire her deeper.
That’s how I felt about God when I started to befriend Africans.
God is too wonderfully complex and beautiful to be expressed in any one color or culture. So he creatively put a piece of his heart into every tribe, people, nation, and culture. The diversity of nations and races paints a larger picture of the character of God, and knowing a race or culture different from your own gives you a glimpse into a new side of God’s character.
I used to have this picture of God in my mind, and it fit nicely into an imaginary frame. I loved the God that fit into that frame. But then I moved to Africa, and I entered into relationship with people who were so dramatically different from me, but so similar to God. And the frame around the image of God in my mind broke apart and I realized that God was one thousand times bigger than the frame I put him in, and I loved him more because of the side of him that I saw in Africa. In Africans.
When I was a stranger in a foreign country, Africans welcomed me into their homes, fed me, clothed me, and taught me how to speak their language and live in their world. When I was lonely, Africans befriended me. When I was socially and culturally awkward, Africans walked with me and showed me how to live with them and among them. When I needed prayer, Africans prayed for me. When I needed encouragement and spiritual truth, Africans spoke it over me. Africans taught me that God has chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith. Africans modeled to me resilient hope, faithfulness in persecution, fervency in prayer, belief in miracles. By the door-always-open hospitality of Africans, I experienced the great hospitality of God. By their close knit communities, neighborliness, and relational culture, I tasted the deep relationship-oriented heart of God. By their joyful worship and faithful prayers, I came to see a new colorful, creative, and joyful side of the God I thought I knew, and I learned that he is one who hears and answers prayers like I never knew was possible.
God, I didn’t know you were like this, I said to him in joyful, breathless wonder. And I love you so much more because of how I see you in my African brothers and sisters. They are beautiful, brilliant, creative, joyful, loyal, and honorable. Because those are all attributes of God that he has instilled in them.
Yes, God is so much bigger and sweeter and more worthy than I imagined. And I never would have known these things about God if black people hadn’t so graciously and lovingly shown me — just by being the people God created them to be.
As our Father and Creator, God has placed a piece of his heart in every color and culture. Befriending people who are different than us gives us a glimpse into the greatness of God. It’s like realizing God is a painter, and you just never knew it. When you take the time to notice all the colors — red and yellow, black and white — you find that our diversity is a picture of God’s unity. God is bigger and better than the frame we have put him in, and there is more to him than we thought.
When people don’t take the time to get to know friends from other nations, races, or cultures, they miss out on getting to know God. My heart breaks and grieves because of how people have trampled in the dirt those who bear the image of God Almighty. In doing so, not only do they miss the gift of getting to see God in other races, but they disrespect his very character by disgracing the people he stamped his image upon.
Oh, what damage has been done. Oh, what a Redeemer and Restorer God is.
In this particular cultural moment, I want to honor the passion and purpose of God when he created the black race. Very specifically in the past five years, black people have been my closest friends and nearest neighbors, and have become my dearest family. I see Jesus in you. I love the character of God and the piece of his heart that he has placed in you. I am better because of you. I see God bigger and in more vibrant colors through you. You matter because you are image-bearers of Almighty God.
It’s like going over to a friend’s house and seeing a remarkable painting on the wall. “Where did you get this?” you ask. “Oh, I painted that,” she replies, to which you realize that your friend loves to paint and you simply never knew it. So your friend shows you more of her work, and its fantastic, and you feel as if you’ve been let in on a sacred and beautiful part of your friend’s heart. You know her better because of it, and you admire her deeper.
That’s how I felt about God when I started to befriend Africans.
God is too wonderfully complex and beautiful to be expressed in any one color or culture. So he creatively put a piece of his heart into every tribe, people, nation, and culture. The diversity of nations and races paints a larger picture of the character of God, and knowing a race or culture different from your own gives you a glimpse into a new side of God’s character.
I used to have this picture of God in my mind, and it fit nicely into an imaginary frame. I loved the God that fit into that frame. But then I moved to Africa, and I entered into relationship with people who were so dramatically different from me, but so similar to God. And the frame around the image of God in my mind broke apart and I realized that God was one thousand times bigger than the frame I put him in, and I loved him more because of the side of him that I saw in Africa. In Africans.
When I was a stranger in a foreign country, Africans welcomed me into their homes, fed me, clothed me, and taught me how to speak their language and live in their world. When I was lonely, Africans befriended me. When I was socially and culturally awkward, Africans walked with me and showed me how to live with them and among them. When I needed prayer, Africans prayed for me. When I needed encouragement and spiritual truth, Africans spoke it over me. Africans taught me that God has chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith. Africans modeled to me resilient hope, faithfulness in persecution, fervency in prayer, belief in miracles. By the door-always-open hospitality of Africans, I experienced the great hospitality of God. By their close knit communities, neighborliness, and relational culture, I tasted the deep relationship-oriented heart of God. By their joyful worship and faithful prayers, I came to see a new colorful, creative, and joyful side of the God I thought I knew, and I learned that he is one who hears and answers prayers like I never knew was possible.
God, I didn’t know you were like this, I said to him in joyful, breathless wonder. And I love you so much more because of how I see you in my African brothers and sisters. They are beautiful, brilliant, creative, joyful, loyal, and honorable. Because those are all attributes of God that he has instilled in them.
Yes, God is so much bigger and sweeter and more worthy than I imagined. And I never would have known these things about God if black people hadn’t so graciously and lovingly shown me — just by being the people God created them to be.
As our Father and Creator, God has placed a piece of his heart in every color and culture. Befriending people who are different than us gives us a glimpse into the greatness of God. It’s like realizing God is a painter, and you just never knew it. When you take the time to notice all the colors — red and yellow, black and white — you find that our diversity is a picture of God’s unity. God is bigger and better than the frame we have put him in, and there is more to him than we thought.
When people don’t take the time to get to know friends from other nations, races, or cultures, they miss out on getting to know God. My heart breaks and grieves because of how people have trampled in the dirt those who bear the image of God Almighty. In doing so, not only do they miss the gift of getting to see God in other races, but they disrespect his very character by disgracing the people he stamped his image upon.
Oh, what damage has been done. Oh, what a Redeemer and Restorer God is.
In this particular cultural moment, I want to honor the passion and purpose of God when he created the black race. Very specifically in the past five years, black people have been my closest friends and nearest neighbors, and have become my dearest family. I see Jesus in you. I love the character of God and the piece of his heart that he has placed in you. I am better because of you. I see God bigger and in more vibrant colors through you. You matter because you are image-bearers of Almighty God.
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