Happy March people! I love spring. The weather has been nice. There are sunshine and cool breezes, blooming flowers, and afternoon walks. I smile at the thought of God’s goodness.
As I bask in God’s presence, I am thankful for the moments of quiet reflection. Concerning the Radical Challenge, I’m primary focusing on reading through the Bible in a year. I’m 27 chapters into it (13 books from the Old Testament and 14 from the New). I just finished 1 Samuel this morning and will follow-up with 2 Samuel as I work on a paper about the moral failures of King Saul.
For the month of April, I want to ask readers to focus on challenge # 4 of the Radical Experiment:
Spend your time in another context.
A lot of discussion in taking place in the media and African American community surrounding the killing of 17 year old African American male by the name of Trayvon Martin. The information that has been released surrounding the case thus far is disheartening. I’m baffled that more evangelicals and particularly Christian media outlets are not speaking out about this case.
Here is my article on the topic: http://goo.gl/m4nNt I’m asking you to contemplate. How would you respond if Trayvon was your son, brother, or a child in your church? How is it that you respond and interact with children from different racial and ethic backgrounds?
And now Radical Reflections from Sophie:
To be honest, I didn’t want to write a post for the month because I haven’t mastered the Experiment. This is March, so I should have things figured out by now, right? Not so! I still struggle with my Bible reading and praying for the various nations. Sometimes, I’m not sure if it’s the Experiment or just me. The Experiment is necessarily difficult but it requires discipline which is easier said than done. I often ask myself if I had fewer tasks, what would I do with my time?
In our world of busyness, some of us lose ourselves in the process. We get bogged down with school, work, Church, family, life and much more, that we don’t make time for God. If you’re anything like me, we justify our actions because we’ve listened to a sermon, played Christian music, muttered prayers under our breath or maybe prayed for a few minutes before rushing out. Sometimes, we really aren’t rushing anywhere and we still don’t spend quality time with God.
I’ve finally equated this to laziness because I respond completely different with my job search. I know I need a job in May so I’m trying to do everything by the book regarding job hunting. I don’t sit around thinking a job will land in my lap. When I equate this to my relationship with God, I shudder because it seems that I’m not trying to know Him more but I always want to feel His presence.
The great thing is God never leaves us! During those times, we need to examine if we’ve really been close to Him. Maybe this is more than the Experiment, maybe this is something I need to examine in life and the Experiment is just showing me things I need to work on. I’m not a fan of high and lows in my relationship with God but I only ask that He grants me the grace to continue on this beautiful journey with Him called the Christian life.
I know I haven’t talked about my experiences with the Experiment and that may be good. Honestly, there was nothing to write about because I wasn’t very faithful to the Experiment this month except that I continue to serve people in any way I can. Being radical is definitely hard stuff and I’m starting to fully realize that. I look forward to reading your thoughts about this post, and your experiences in any capacity you are with this Experiment or your walk with God. I think we can all learn from each other in many ways. I thank Natasha for encouraging me to write a post for March and I hope you have a blessed April.
© Natasha S. Robinson 2012
A SISTA'S JOURNEY 
Putting yourself in another context means identification:
Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil, Racial Reconciliation
Thank you for raising the topic of the lack of response from the evangelical church. And your other blog post was powerful. Your voice is so important, and I’m so glad that Judy has linked us in!
Do you think you could challenge the white members of Christ’s body, as to what you think our response should be? A list of books, sermons, or convicting questions to help us educate ourselves before we hurt others, and some challenges about how to truly engage others across racial lines.
Thank you for reading and responding, Kara. You offer very insightful considerations. I’m going to read a bit about all of this in the fall and will be glad to engage all readers on a more intimate level around the issues and proper responses as you propose. Thank you so much. Happy Resurrection Week! Blessings,
Kara,
Informative, yet cute points to remember when discussing the Trayvon Martin case and race:
Blogger and writer friend, Margot Starbuck, sharing a story about spending time in another context:
Check out Margot’s Monday minute –