Published By Deborah Negron
April 24, 2019
So, What About Ethnicity
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Romans 3:23-24 KJV
Neither the jew nor the gentile can boast. We have all messed up. Neither the tall not the short has it better, we have all failed. Neither the wide eyed and pretty, nor the flat nosed and pronounced have it together. We all need a Saviour. Sin separates us all from God. Ethnic backgrounds only help identify where we might have been born. But at the root is we all are but clay needing the Aster Sculptor to make his form. He is the Potter we are just all clay.
I heard them speak of their ethnicity with pride. They told of all their cultural and distinct traditions with such a drive.
Their particular country and their particular place. But I wondered, they stand here, in this land of grace.
You see I am an American. I was born in the land of the free.
My parents were born in Puerto Rico. But their grandparents were Spaniards and Jews and Arabs too. My daddy looks just like an old Rabi. My mom looks like she is definitely of Arabic descent. Yet her mama was a jew and a her papa of Arabic descent. Our family loves color. We love all kinds of people. Light skinned and dark, chink eyes and wide eyes like mine, are all part of who we are. Maybe some may we say we are so mixed. But I live who I am.
As for me, I was born here. In the good old USA.
I love my roots. But I love my place of birth. I grew up in New York. A place where one can find every color and every ethnic background one can know.
I had Cape verdian friends and Japanese ones too. I had Italian friends and Dominican too. I loved the Yankees and Apple Pie. The New York Rockets were all the strive. The lights the people and the variety of styles. The varied music and rhythms and tunes. I was the odd ball though. I always felt like I belonged in a much wider landscape. I love trees and open spaces. And saying hello to all the faces. I am an extrovert. I sing with all my might and I have learned finally to fight. To fight for justice and for truth. My weapon is the pen and the notebook. You see we all want to stand out and seem to perceive there are more distinctions than there really may be.
Let me tell you, for us, it was not about the ethnicity it was about the Love the comradery. For us it was not about the place you came from, it was more about the the Blood that cleansed you….
The Citizenship that truly matters is the one from up above. The God who came and made himself a sacrifice to save the lost. Whatever land or ethnicity the Blood of Jesus was meant for each.
For the Rich and for the Poor. For the Educated and the Illiterate too.
Salvation comes by the hearing, The hearing the Word of God. It’s not a grace, we can work to earn.We cannot gain it on our own. For every person salve or free, must come to hear the truth you see.
It’s for the blind and feeble too. Its it’s for the lame and mute and strong, for the weak and needy soul.
I too was lost and now I’m found. I too was blind and closed in mind. But Christ He came to set me free. To liberate the spirit in me. He came to give me a purpose divine.
Oh Jesus you gave up all, for me. How can I bring dis-unity? We are all desired of God. How can I bring Division? Whether your skin is light or rich and brown. Whether you have a differing accent, or whether your eyes are bold or lines so flat. It does not matter, No, not that… Jesus came to reunite the Human Race, His Own you see. Men and women, young and old. Jesus came to rescue all.
He’s God Creator and King of All. The Heavens declare He is the Lord.
So come and join your hand to mine. Come and reconcile and find. We are all created in God’s own image. I choose that over any lineage. If we believe on Jesus Christ, this makes us part of one and part of all. Part of His Body and of His Church. We are part of His Family in this Grace. We find there is a place for all who choose to seek Him and Believe.
So don’t talk to me of our differences, Let’s talk of our similarities. All of us once were fallen from his glory, Jesus came down to change our story.
Now Blood Bought and Redeemed… Set free from our old sin. Now United in this Faith, We will see Him Face to Face.
So I await like Martin Luther King…
The day when all will stand and sing. Putting differences aside, worshiping Jesus in one accord and side to side.
It is easy, such Simplicity. The Apostle John Said it Well,
For God so Loved the World that He gave His Only Son, that WHISEVER BELIEVES IN HIMwill not perish but have ETERNAL LIFE. John 3:16.
Think of a Canvas or Tapestry, The Beautiful Colors Make The Masterpiece. Not one more than the other just perfect and an integral part of God’s Divine Order.
Life and Faith By Deb 
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