Our world seems to be constantly in upheaval right now, and many of us are experiencing a personal unraveling of our “norm” as we are forced into new rhythms at home and at work, unlearning our routines and picking up new habits, and trying to navigate the emotional time we are facing right now as a nation.
And then you add on to that trying to help our kids deal with what is going on.
That’s why it’s so helpful to have resources to aid our conversations like Patrol’s new free ebook series: “The Gospel in Color: A Theology of Racial Reconciliation.” They’ve put together a fantastic pair of short ebooks (one for kids, and one for parents) that walks through what the Bible says about how God created us in his image, what that means, why racism is a sin, and how to learn from Jesus how to be able to make change in our world.
WHAT’S THIS BOOK FOR, ANYWAY?
Racism is real, and it is a sin. All sin is ultimately a spiritual problem, which means it can only find complete healing through Jesus. This book will help you have honest conversations about race, ethnic differences, and racial reconciliation — because Jesus came to heal all our brokenness, including that of racism.
As we’ll learn together in this book, the Bible tells us that God made human beings “in his image” — meaning they reflect the nature of God. That’s something that’s true of all people, no matter where they come from or what they look like. God doesn’t want us all to look and act exactly the same. The fact that we are all different is actually very beautiful, particularly when we come together to worship Jesus as one big family, just as we see in the book of Revelation at the very end of the Bible. Just like a talent show, all groups of people and all cultures have something special to share with the world. God made us so that in our differences, we would all be unified in our love for Christ.
But an idea you have probably heard of — racism — tries to turn God’s design upside down. Instead of agreeing with the Bible that all people are made in God’s image and are equally valuable, racism says that some people are more valuable than others. This is a complete lie. And like all lies, it causes great pain.
Racism says that some people are more valuable than others. This is a complete lie. And like all lies, it causes great pain.
Racism can be present in words and actions that seem polite, but are actually subtle ways of letting people know they’re less valuable because they’re different. In this book, we’ll learn about where the lie of racism comes from — and how Jesus wants us to fight this lie.
GET THE PDF OF BOTH THE KID VERSION AND THE PARENT VERSION
Click the pictures to download the pdfs of each version of the ebook. If you want to go through it with your kid using the kid version, you can print it out and do that! If you’d prefer to just read the parent version yourself and then discuss the questions at the end of each short chapter with your kids, that works too.
THESE CONVERSATIONS ARE IMPORTANT
One of the most important things we get to do as parents is help our kids learn to navigate the difficult journey of life with the firm foundation of Jesus as their savior and king. Jesus doesn’t just care about our afterlife, he cares about the life we live now, and we can help our kids learn grow in their gospel identity as missionary servants of King Jesus who are part of God’s mission to redeem and restore our world, bringing his shalom peace and wholeness to everyone through Jesus.
This is not just a cultural or political issue. This is a gospel issue because Jesus cares about how we treat each other and how we interact with other members of the human race, our global family.
Please let us know if this is a helpful resource, and we’d love to hear about any conversations you’re having with your kids.
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