“Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.’ And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to discuss this question with the apostles and elders. So they were sent on their way by the church and they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they reported the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the believers. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and said, ‘It is necessary for them to be circumcised and ordered to keep the law of Moses.’  The apostles and the elders met together to consider this matter.  After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, ‘My brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that you should be the one through whom the Gentiles would hear the message of the good news and become believers.  And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us; and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us.  Now therefore why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?  On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.’ The whole assembly kept silence, and listened to Barnabas and Paul as they told of all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles.”

~Acts 15. 1-12, New Revised Standard Version

Why do we continue to argue over, for and against disputes that have long been settled or for which we have no vested interest? The facts no longer impact us or perhaps, they never did; still, we rehearse the actions of others– not that our repetition of the events will change what has happened.  Instead, it is to prove yet again our rationale for why we are the way we are or why we do what we do. Though the act is no longer necessary or the matter has been resolved, we still want others to go what we have been through. Placing ourselves in the seat of a judge, we don’t think that others should have it any easier than we did.  We instigate and extend suffering, confusion and unease.

Stories can carry cultural truths and serve as the means by which we understand what is good. They provide meaning for our lives and occasions wherein to discuss morals and values.  Stories can capture a valiant past and predict a bright future.  But, they can also overshadow the present. Stories can prevent us from seeing what is right in front of us or impact our desire for new discoveries.  The new believers carried with them the story of their Pharisaical upbringing.

Our lives have changed in that we have received Christ.  Still, like these Pharisaical believers, our understanding and the expectation placed upon our reality have yet to reflect our new condition and position in Jesus Christ. We continue to see things as we did before we met Christ and our responses are a likely mate. And though our conditions have improved, we do not think it necessary to change our story to reflect this new found freedom. Instead of accepting the all- inclusive freedom of Christ, we place upon the shoulders of others the expectations that we ourselves are not able to satisfy.  We know that it was hard, that the way was arduous and the terms of our agreement impossible to keep.  Still, we place the expectation upon others without so much as a word of advice.

Strangely enough, we find ourselves not knowing what to do with the freedom found in Jesus Christ.  We have yet to comprehend the length and breadth of it.  It is all too frightening and suddenly, our cage doesn’t look so bad.  We grab our chains, return to our cages and after locking the door behind us, we throw away the key.

Race causes us to act just like these “certain individuals” described in the Acts of the Apostles. We know that, as Christians, we have a new life in Christ Jesus, that the condemnation of sin has been removed (Romans 8.1). But, we have repeated the story for so long that we have forgotten that there is is a prophetic word that Christ came to fulfill.  We have told the story of struggle and oppression for so long that we do not know how to accept the new covenant, the new promise of freedom in Christ Jesus.

We don’t have to fight anymore.  The matter has been settled by grace.  Our hearts have been cleansed and there is no longer any distinction between “us” and “them.” We don’t have to separate ourselves from others. God will now do that as Judge. And Christ has already fulfilled the law so the matter is settled.  We have a new beginning in Jesus Christ so, change your story.