Black Magic
Theme of the Week: Colorblind? No Way!
Monday, March 16, 2009
 1 of 1
Key Bible Verse: He has given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ (Ephesians 4:7). Bonus Reading: Exodus 31:1-5
One surprising joy of adoption was discovering that my son could do what I couldn't. When Matthew and I first tossed a football back and forth, I marveled at his ability to throw a hard, spiraling pass directly for my midsection … to loft the ball in a perfect arc, its points fixed, balanced, and leading. This was instinct bred into him, a skill I couldn't have taught him.
Once in the family room watching a Pittsburgh Steelers game, Matthew dampened the sound to say, "No offense, Dad, but we play better than you." Then he turned the sound back up—as I parsed his sentence. His we didn't include me. Matthew could mean an age difference, but other men my age could play better than me. That left race. Matthew had just observed a mid-field reception of unspeakable grace by a black man who'd outpaced a white man to the ball's drop, and then had, rescuing his footing from a near fall, continued into the end zone.
When I wasn't looking, Matthew had come to realize that I'm white and he's black. It didn't sunder the goodness of our relationship, for he'd said, "No offense, Dad—" But with him and between us, racial differences were observable and discussable.
—Walter Wangerin Jr. in Father & Son
My Response: Is racial differences an off-limits conversation topic for me?
Adapted from Father & Son (Zondervan, 2008) by permission.
Copyright © 2009 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
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Lord, give me a fresh appreciation for the diverse richness of the Church you are forming.
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