The Story of Un
In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic when things were constantly changing and developing—everyone referred to current events as “unprecedented times”.
However, we cannot use the same phrase regarding the murder of George Floyd. Horrifically, there is a precedent for the killing and mistreatment of People of Color. These events have been tragically repeated over and over and over for hundreds of years.
Both collectively as an organization and as a group of individuals committed to following Christ, we stand against the unjust killing of People of Color. We lament. We pray. We seek forgiveness. We stand with others to cry out for justice.
Change starts with us as individuals. We need to do the work to address our own biases and realign ourselves with truths from scripture. To begin this work, we want to resurrect material from past Mission Trip Devotions. We believe this content has applicable teaching points for the current events and we hope it can add to your own personal journey of listening and understanding.
To begin, let’s return to the summer 2013 theme of UNDESIRABLE. Check out the content below for “The Story of Un”- to learn more about how God views humanity and how we should view others too.
The Story of Un
- Look at this list of words.
- Have others used any of these words to describe you?
- Have you ever believed these words about yourself?
- Have you ever used these words to describe others?
When God created humans, God didn’t use any of the “un” words to describe them. In the following two passages, consider the words that describe how God made us:
“So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them…
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”
Genesis 1:27, 31
“For you [God] created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.”
Psalm 139:13–14
God made you good. God made ALL people good. And yes: Sin breaks us. Sin hurts and destroys. Sin causes us to use the label of “un” and to ignore the image of God in others. But you were not created for brokenness! And that’s why God sees through brokenness – through The Story of Un – to recognize all people as worthy of pursuing with outrageous love.
Romans 5:6-8 give us a picture of God’s outrageous love for us:
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6–8.
Jesus comes after each of us, even in our brokenness! He doesn’t wait until we’ve got it all together. Jesus pursues us because he sees us as worthwhile, desirable and good. And that’s how we should see all people- worthwhile, desirable and good!
Remember the list of “un” words? Read the list again, but this time, without the “un”.
God never uses “un” words to describe his creation, and you shouldn’t either! Take a few minutes to remember how Jesus sees you by doing these three things:
- Pray for the ability to care more about what Jesus thinks than what others think.
- Ask Jesus to help you see yourself as the word without the “un”.
- Pray that Jesus would help you to see others without the “un”
Now that you’ve had a reminder of how God sees you, let that inform how you see and act toward others. As often as you need, pray these prayers! Let God change you from the inside out.
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