God Sees Colour

By Lynne Moses

This is something I wrote after seeing the video’s doing its rounds on social media. I am an Indian female living in South Africa. I am a Christian. It saddens me to see all the posts from leaders only wanting to stand with the victim. Surely the perpetrators need help too? Something inside them causes this manifestation of hatred and violence. If it remains unaddressed, it will re-surface. 

I don't condone the perpetrators actions. I do feel someone needs to introduce them to Christ. Someone needs to tell them God loves them but that they need to change. Someone needs to highlight that God is a God of love but we will all face judgement some day. 

I have often heard people say, ‘I don’t see colour in peoole’. I will call it like it is. That is a bit of an untruth. We all see colour.  In objects, in substance, in material, in people!

Do you look at the sun falling gently to sleep and not see shades of orange, yellow, pink and red? Do you look at the horizon where the sky touches the furthest edge of the water and not see different shades of blue? I look at our family of 4 and see that none of us are the exact shade of brown as the other. 

I know I am seen by the colour of my skin. I am not a mass of particles floating around. What distinguishes me most, apart from my gender, is my brown-ness.  I know decisions have been made about me based solely on the colour of my skin. 

God sees colour. How could a wonderful, indescribable, majestic God, who is the Creator of all, not see colour? You can see it with the human race. 

You can see it in the twinkle of silvery stars thrown against a canvas of black. You can see it when white marshymallow clouds suddenly turn a sullen grey, then black, before the storm erupts. You can see it, if you have children, when you look into their eyes. 

You can’t  have grown up in South Africa and say you don’t see colour. You cannot have grown up here and not known discrimination, based on your skin colour. 

You cannot watch the video’s of the past few weeks on social media and not see a reflection of us.  I would not be surprised if some people reading this think what is she droning on about now? 

We seem to be re-living Judges 21:25(b) everyone did what was right in their own eyes. There are times, I’m sure that it is ok to say, ‘I don’t see colour.’ Now is not one of those times! We stand in thoughts and prayers with the families of those who are left with the grief and trauma of violently losing a loved one and we pray for justice but we also need to spare a prayer for and extend mercy to, the perpetrators.  

Amidst all the opinions and the clamour of chaos, fear and hurt, let us not forget what the word of God tells us and who God calls us to be. Our reaction to injustice must reflect the WHOLE of the gospel, the central pillar being love. Love not just for those who are hurt, but as much as our natural instincts go against this thought, love for those who caused the hurt. Love does not mean condoning the act. Love means bringing them before the Father for Him to have His way. 

Love might mean speaking out. Love might mean being silent. The word of God is the best compass. Christ himself is the best example of someone subjected to injustice and his reaction to it, changed the world. It is the delicate intricacy of a life in Christ. When the world calls for more hate, we reflect the inexplicable expanse of the love of God.  

1 Corinthians 16:15: Let all that you do be done in love.