#DearWhitePeople - A Reflection on Harmony

I apologize for how long it has taken to write this, but I finally felt like I should write this post. So, here it is.

The previous two posts have been about how the movie Dear White People is about identity and relationship, but the final thing I noticed about the movie is that it is a movie about harmony.

This movie is also about HARMONY.

If you still have not seen the movie it should still be obvious based on the title of the movie that it deals directly with race, ethnicity, and diversity. If you only read the title of the film you would think it would be confrontational, which in some respects it is, but the film is actually a satirical view of how people think of diversity in the United States. I think the aim of the film is to point out issues in how we think, feel, and talk about race, but I am unsure if the goal of the movie is enough. Although I believe the goal is an amazing start, I also believe that I thirsted for more progress.

Director Justin Simien said, “The intention was always to hold a mirror up and tell a dirty truth, even if the truth was uncomfortable.” 

The goal of simply showing people the dirty truth is not enough. In my perspective, Simien’s goal was accomplished but I do not remember any kind of hinting towards a solution to the problem. Racism is real and sinful, but what is the solution to hate, division, ignorance, and pride? There didn’t seem to be any help with the answer.

I believe that this is because there isn’t any specific answer in and of ourselves. I think it is because of one big reason: we aren’t instinctually drawn to diversity. 

Why do I say those things? Well, it’s because we are sinners who love to be comfortable.

Being in a diverse community of people from different races and ethnicities makes life more complex and uncomfortable. We might accidentally - or on purpose - say or do the wrong thing. We are all drawn to people who are just like us, and it’s because it is easier! Being in a diverse community is hard and we struggle with placing our lives in a community of people unlike us.

The only way we can truly love our diversity is to understand our unity with Christ. If we have faith in Jesus we are unified together, which makes us family - a diverse family! Since we are all made in the image of God, we can reflect God’s diversity, unity, and harmony.

Quick theological point: God is diverse and unified which creates perfect harmony within Himself. There is one God who eternally exists in three distinct Persons - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each are distinct (diversity), each is fully God, and there is only one God (unity).

Stop and think about this for a second: God’s diversity within Himself doesn’t create division or hatred; God’s unity and diversity within Himself exists in perfect harmony. God has revealed Himself to be perfectly diverse without affecting His unity, and since we are all made in God’s image we are to celebrate our diversity without affecting our unity in Christ.

We have the privilege of living in harmony with one another, but this is only possible through the blood of Jesus on the cross. We have the freedom in Jesus to love our neighbors, no matter what race or ethnicity they might be. We have the freedom and privilege of looking to Jesus to be our foundation of unity. His amazing grace to us is shown through the church, which should be diverse and unified while living in harmony with one another.

I lead a Missional Community at Karis Church, and I am very grateful to God for allowing our group to be racially and ethnically diverse. I am eternally more grateful that we are unified by the blood of Jesus, and that we are committed to one another to pursue harmony as we live our lives together. God has been very good and gracious to us.

Let us all look to the Trinity - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - for our example of unity, diversity, and harmony.

God is good and gracious.

Jacob Luis Gonzales

Saturday Morning Prayer and the Grace of God

I woke up today at 5:30am.

Now, that might seem a little too early for a Saturday morning for most people, but this has become a normal waking time for Ali and I. We had a hard time initially waking up this early on “our only day off.” Over time though, this waking time has become something we look forward to.

We wake up to go to a small group gathering called Morning Prayer. Karis Church, the church that we have been members at for some time now, started a morning prayer time for each day of the week. Each morning, at 6am, there is an organized time to pray for God to work in our lives, our friends and family, the city of Columbia, and for the church.

As the elders introduced this to the church I immediately felt a conviction. I didn’t understand what the conviction was at first, but I knew I desired to be involved with a Morning Prayer time. I remember hearing that there were still two morning slots that needed leaders - Tuesdays and Saturdays. 

I can’t remember much of the sermon that morning because all I was thinking about was if I should step up and lead one of the open dates. I immediately crossed off Tuesdays because I have Staff Meeting for the church on those mornings, so I knew that it would conflict with that time. So… Saturday was all that was left.

I sat in the pew that morning thinking about why I would want to do this. Did I want to do it because “real” leaders step up? Did I want to do it because I wanted to conquer a challenge? Did I want to do it because I could tell people I am choosing “the hardest morning?” (By the way, waking up at 5:30am is hard any day of the week!)

Those are all twisted reasons to get involved in leading others in prayer, but the one reason that came out from all of it was this:

I struggle with prayer.

I remember sitting there being struck with this healthy conviction that I am robbing myself of God’s intimacy by not spending time in prayer. This reality struck me because I knew it affected my relationship with God.

Why do I say that? Well, I say that because I see how easy it is to fall into believing lies that influence my heart and thoughts about God and His grace. I, like most people, stray into focusing too much on my sin and not our Savior.

"Dear Father, teach us to give our greater efforts to reveling in Your grace rather than groveling in our sin.” Art Azurdia

My lack of prayer reveals that I am more focused on my sin than the grace of God, and I know that the more I focus on my sin the more that I feel guilt and shame for falling short. Sinning in the first place is not “reveling in [God’s] grace,” but refusing to come to God in prayer is also not reveling in His grace. 

There are plenty of reasons why most of us don’t pray: guilt, shame, pride, self-sufficient lies, unbelief, anger, etc. I think of the reasons that I struggle with prayer because I feel extreme guilt and God won’t forgive me for something so offensive to His holiness. While it is true that my sin does affect my relationship with God, the truth is that my sin does not change my standing in Christ. I have placed my life in the grace of God for my salvation and not my works, so when I fall short - and I certainly will - His grace is sufficient to forgive me.

The same thing is true for you if you have trusted in Christ: His grace is sufficient to forgive you and His love for you is the motivation to come before Him for forgiveness and thank Him for His glorious grace.

We have the freedom to come before God, humble ourselves, and ask Him to give us eyes to see Him as He truly is. God is faithful and forgiving to those who are humbled before His holiness and His glory.  

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:9-10 ESV)

Saturday mornings have now become a blessing from God. It started off with just my wife and I, but now we have three others joining us. I wake up groggy each time, but I wake up knowing that God is faithful to hear our prayers. 

If you are interested in joining me pray, please let me know and I would love to connect with you. 

God is good and gracious.

Jacob Luis Gonzales

INTERN NEWS - November Newsletter

INTERN NEWS - November Newsletter from Jacob Gonzales on Vimeo.

God is good and gracious.

Jacob Luis Gonzales

Karis: Westside and Downtown

Why Does the Church Make People Angry?

When The Church Hurts You

Aliens, Chicken, Church, and Drawing

Amazing book. A must read for sure. #race #book #minority #church

"Our faithfulness to God's mission will depend on our willingness to struggle thought these issues in light of God's future." Juan Martínez

Jessica and Ali waiting in line at Chick-fil-a. #Chickfila #JeffCity

I guess Chick-fil-a is pretty dang popular... #chickfila #jeffcity

Rob and Drew making some last minute edits to the Member Meeting presentation. Get excited! #karischurch #membership

The new Karis Church digs pre-renovation. #karischurch

The kind of stuff you'll find in my journal... #journal #drawing

#CrucialQuestions - Begins January 6, 2014

This upcoming Monday will feature that final installment of the #Marriage series. After this series has concluded, I have decided to take a couple of months off from writing longer posts, but there will still be shorter updates on here.

I have decided that starting on January 6, 2014 I will be posting a new series that focuses on R.C. Sproul's new Crucial Questions series.




Here is the schedule:

January 6 - Who is Jesus?
January 13 - Can I Trust The Bible?
January 20 - What Is The Church?
January 27 -  Does God Control Everything?

God is good and gracious.

Jacob Luis Gonzales

Night of an Intern

This is what my night looks like. Coffee and books. #internlife

Rain, Tears, and Prayer

This morning was a particularly interesting morning. There were rain, tears, and prayers for the future.

This morning started off with this picture above. It was pouring here in Columbia. When I say "pouring," I mean it was coming down so hard that it was hard to see a lot of things in the distance.

Something you may not know about me: I love rain.

Rain reminds me of a lot of good moments in my life, but mostly I love rain because it reminds me of God's grace and His faithfulness. It reminds me of God's promise that He made to Noah after the flood.

Ali and I taught this past Sunday about God's covenant that He made with Noah that He would never flood the Earth again (Genesis 8-9). Rain reminds me of how God's faithfulness has been active and present in my life. Rain reminds me of how God has been loved and saved me from a life without Him and His saving grace.

This morning also brought forth a video about a church that is going to be planted (started) in the city of Chicago. I watched this video about a group from Texas about the influence of Chicago and how they are hoping to plant a church in Chicago by 2014. I honestly had to hold back tears while I was sitting at my desk.

Ali and I have thought quite a bit about what God is calling our family to do after the internship, but if you are curious about what we are seeking to plant a church - specifically and possibly in Chicago - watch this video. It explains the importance of Chicago and it beautifully explains the need for Jesus to be known, loved, and praised in the innercity.

Check out the video here: http://reachchicago2014.com/

Pray for Ali and I as we pray about where our family will go after the internship. Pray that we seek wise counsel within Karis Church to help guide and lead us towards where God would have our family. God is good and He will do great things in the coming months and years. Your prayers are needed and appreciated.

God is good and gracious.

Jacob Luis Gonzales