Mom Time News

It's Time to Change History!
by Cheryl R. Carter

No one can deny this world needs changing. Read the paper. Watch a news broadcast. Or better yet read some prayer requests. When I look at what the body of Christ is praying about, I am sadden and appalled at the same time. Some of the requests are sincere requests for God's divine intervention in seemingly impossible situations and others are selfish pleas for lives of comfort.

History however does not show that Christians are called to a life of comfort but rather a life of confrontation. The Quakers, for instance, had such tenacity to stand against injustice that they refused to own a slave and were the forerunners of the Underground Railroad. As a result of their convictions they suffered. Yes, they suffered for righteous sake but they changed history!

In fact, I am indebted to them because their prayers translated into real action. My children and I were watching a civil rights video. We saw people being attacked by dogs and with water hoses. Where were the Christians during this period in history one of them asked? "Some were being attacked, others were attacking them and still others were at home watching it on television", I replied.

In other words the attackers were part of history, those people at home were observing history but the courageous civil rights marchers were changing history.

I know what I'm saying makes a lot of people uncomfortable. People are uncomfortable discussing racism and sexism in the church. It is so easy to pretend it doesn't exist. However, you cannot heal a thing by saying it does not exist.

Historically, women in the church have long been pushed to the side. Interestingly, it is acceptable for women to be senators, governors and in major policy-making positions but disproportionately represented in leadership positions in the church. But its time we change history.

Are you ready to change history? If I were to continue listing the many injustices of the culture, I would address the way we treat our children, the elderly, the poor, foreigners, etc. None of this will change without an attitude adjustment on our part. Are you ready to change history? We must choose just as we did during the civil rights movement. Do you want to hold the fire hose that resists change, watch and do nothing or do you want to courageously stand against the violent flow of the water. It is your decision.

We make decisions everyday to change history. We are all children of destiny. And history is changed when we take a courageous stand. We must confront the culture as Jesus did. He embraced foreigners and encouraged women to stand against the restraining culture of the time. He spent time with children, wine drinkers and the rejected of society. Jesus changed history!

How did Jesus change history? He changed it by loving the people. There is much talk in Christian circles about racial reconciliation but loving others who are different can often be a tedious process. First we need an appreciation for those different than us, which can eventually develop into brotherly love. It takes time. We must be honest to say loving one another is neither easy nor instantaneous.

Many of us have difficulties loving those who look like us, let alone those who are different. It gets back to an issue of the heart. We must be willing to be honest to say we have difficulty loving. Once we confess this to the Lord He can teach us to love people.

Recently a friend was visiting me with her children. Her children had never seen my children, although they had seen me. One of them replied "Oh mommy what if they are brown-" (presumably like me). The issue of skin difference quickly diminished when the children realized all they did have in common. We too must be like little children if we want to change history because history is made by people who refuse to follow the culture.

History changers challenge the culture. In fact, when I teach my children about history we study biographies of the movers and shakers of society. People like Harriet Tubman, Alexander the Great, Dr. Martin Luther King and John & Charles Welsey. First, we study their lives. Then we go back and research the times they were living in and how they lived contrary to the culture. I want to instill in my children the tenacity to live contrary to the culture and to think critically. In short, I want them to change history.

My parents did the same for me. My interest in history was stirred by my father. He told me stories of slavery and the struggle for equality. My dad insisted that much of what actually happened was never recorded in the main line history books. As an adult I would later research my father's stories and find much of what he had told me was accurate and actually documented.

Each of us has a history that is recorded accurately. One day the King of kings and the Lord of lords will open a book and in it will be recorded the history of your life. What will this book say about you? Will it say you changed history and confronted the culture? Will it say you fed the homeless, ministered to the poor, visited prisoners, wiped a child's tears? What will history say about you?

I know what I want history to say about me. Cheryl changed history not by her works but by her heart. She confronted the culture of materialism, greed, racism, sexism and selfishness. She sought the favor of God rather than men. She had a tenacity for prayer and stood against cultural and religious heresy. I would also like history to say that I was a woman who God used as a voice to my generation. I pray, should Jesus tarry that my children's children and their children infinitum will still be changing history.

Sometimes in prayer I get a glimpse of what may be in my history book. When I cry out to the Lord to help me love those who are determined not to love me. Or when I speak well of others who I know may not speak well of me. When I refuse to complain even though it seems the circumstance has not changed. When I ask God to purify my heart so I can sincerely pray for my enemies not out of religious duty but as a deed that truly touches the heart of God who loves all people. When I kneel to speak to a child other adults in the church ignore. I believe things like these change history.

History changes when we encourage others to draw close to the Lord because He alone authors change. May the Lord see your decision to change history and empower you to do so! Who knows, perhaps when Jesus opens your history book many names might be written in it. Names of people whose lives were changed simply because you decided to change history. It all begins with a decision to do something that touches the heart of God. Jesus will record your decision and empower you to act on it. When you step into eternity, He will open your history book smile lovingly at you and say "Well done my good and faithful servant."

May God be gracious enough to allow you hear these words one day. Go forth and change history!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cheryl R. Carter keeps looking to the stars as God continues to fulfill all the promises in her life. At times, like Sarah, she is tempted to laugh at their fulfillment but she remains assured that as long as Jesus is on the throne no weapon formed against her will prosper. Visit www.Momtime for more articles, her speaking itinerary and organizing tips.