In the last two weeks, I’ve had conversations with local, regional, and national leaders, both black and white, about the issues our city and nation are facing. I confess that the organizational side of me wants a plan, a road map that tells us where to go and how to get there. 
 
But repeatedly I’ve heard these leaders say there isn’t a map, at least not of the sort I would like. Instead, their challenge has been to commit to the journey. 
 
Some have called faith a “journey without maps.” That’s not to say God doesn’t guide, but instead that we’re to get started and trust him to lead us along the way. That’s why the writer of Hebrews tells us that “by faith Abraham, when called to go, …obeyed and went even though he did not know where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8) This doesn’t mean Abraham wandered around blindly, but that God let him know the next step of the journey in much the way navigation apps feed us directions one-by-one when we travel to someplace new.
 
The journey toward racial reconciliation and justice will take time. There are no easy fixes for the systemic issues our culture faces. But we know the goal. God told Abraham he would make his clan into a great nation; that he would bless them and, in turn, bless all people on earth. It was Jesus who prayed that we all might be “one.” (John 17:21) And Paul who challenged Jews and Gentiles to become one through Jesus who died to bring them together as one new humanity. (Ephesians 2:14-21)
 
We must pray for a more just and equitable society where everyone has access to good schools and parks, to economic opportunity and health care, and where everyone feels safe in their neighborhoods. And we must also pray for righteousness, justice, and peace because the issues we face are not just economic, political, and social, but spiritual. 
 
The leaders I’ve been with have cautioned not to move to action too quickly. There are immediate needs we can help meet. But the longer-term issues are more deeply rooted and will require time and persistent effort to address. The best place to start, many have said, is by humbly investing time to understand the historical and current experiences of our black brothers and sisters. 
 
The issue of race in American is a necessary and unavoidable conversation. I won’t pretend to know how to get from A to Z, but the clear message of the Bible is that we cannot remain indifferent. We have a responsibility to seek justice and to see that every single person, those created in the image of God, is treated with equal dignity. 
 
The Good News is that through the cross, Jesus reconciles us to God and one another. And one day we will see “a great multitude that no one [can] count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb (Jesus).” (Revelation 7:9)