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Getting to the heart of Ferguson

In recent weeks, I have seen no small number of readers unsubscribe from The Daily Jot when I write about Ferguson. It seems that many Christians just don't want to hear about it. They have their opinion and are not open to anything further. We can't solve our problems by ignoring them. The Lord puts challenges in front of us to mature us, and in the process, to glorify Him. Relationships between people of color and white folk are something we all can work on improving. A little love, understanding and consideration goes a long way. What does Proverbs 15:1 say? "A soft answer turns away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger." Let me share with you what a friend of mine is doing in Ferguson.

Aeneas Williams was recently inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He played defensive back for the Arizona Cardinals and the St. Louis Rams. He is a strong advocate of building character in young men. He is founding pastor of Spirit of the Lord Family Church which meets at a high school in Ferguson. In the days after the Mike Brown shooting, Aeneas was in the streets listening and speaking the light of Christ. He said, "I spoke to people, I listened. I wanted to get the pulse. People just wanted to express themselves, they wanted to voice things. It was people on both sides, the community and those who are law enforcement. There was confusion, there was hurt. It was a scary time."

His church moved to Ferguson about a year ago. At the time, Aeneas wasn't sure why the Lord was putting him there. He says, "Looking back, looking at it now, I can understand and see the how and why of it all. But at the time, I didn't question it. I heard Apple founder Steve Jobs say at a commencement speech at Stanford a few years ago that 'You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.' I now know what that means." Today, Aeneas can be seen working with diverse folks to help rebuild the small businesses that were destroyed by rioters. He is an encourager, saying, "Its exciting to be here and to do anything we can do to help people get back to normalcy."

We often view things in terms of skin problems. But Ferguson and other issues that divide us as a people and as a nation are not skin problems. They are, as New Orleans Saints Tight End Benjamin Watson says, "Sin problems." Maybe we don't understand, so we get angry. Maybe our ethnic background or culture isn't the same as someone else's, so we criticize. Maybe a bad experience leads to a prejudice. But maybe we need to look at things in terms of race--that there are no races, we are all part of the human race created by God. As 1 Samuel 16:7 says, "for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."