«He will be our peace» (Micah 5:5, NIV).
THE UNITED STATES Declaration of Independence states that «all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.» However, Richard and Mildred Loving faced many hardships to make that paragraph of the Declaration a reality in their lives. Richard and Mildred decided to get married. There was only one problem: they couldn’t do so. Why? Because Richard was a white man, and Mildred was an African-American woman, and Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act forbade the marriage union between people of different races.
To solve that situation, in 1958 they got married in the District of Columbia and then returned to Virginia. A month later they were condemned to a year in prison; but they were spared from going to prison by accepting an offer to leave the state of Virginia. While living in Washington, tired of the injustice and of not seeing her family, Mildred asked for help from Robert Kennedy, Attorney General for the United States Government at the time. Kennedy sent her to the American Civil Liberties Union. Finally, on June 12, 1967, the Supreme Court abolished the law that forbade interracial marriages. And every June 12, «Loving Day» is celebrated in their honor. The Lovings tore down the wall of hostility that forced them to be separated, and freely enjoyed their love.
We like to divide, create groups, discriminate those who are different from us. «Divisions,» regardless of what they may be, are «works of the flesh» (Galatians 5:19, 20); in other words, they come from the depth of our being. With our lips we say, «We are equal,» but our actions express exactly the opposite. That force of division that dominates us can only be counteracted by a supernatural act. And that act was already performed by Christ. Paul says, «For Christ Himself has brought peace to us. . . In his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us» (Ephesians 2:14, NLT). As the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary says: «Christ is not only the peacemaker; He Himself is peace, the bond of union and of peace. In Him all the divisions of mankind are to be abolished.»
If we feel inclined to alienate ourselves from others, we need Micah’s promise to be fulfilled in our lives: «He will be our peace» (Micah 5:5, NIV).
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Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2023
“I AM WITH YOU”
From: J. VLADIMIR POLANCO
Collaborators: Lorina Maya & Angelica Cuate
