Mikel French: A Christian’s Response to “I Can’t Breathe!”

“I can’t breathe!” These words should haunt every follower of Christ.

Are you ready to sit before the judgment seat? Your lawyer, your representative before the throne of God, will be Jesus Christ.

The reason I point this out is that your lawyer before God’s throne is Jewish.

Imagine if Jesus were to look at you that day and say: “You want to enter my home, heaven, the New Jerusalem, but you never had anyone like Me in your home. All of the people you welcomed to your home looked like you, but you’re entering into a city with people from every nation, kindred, tribe and tongue!”

Imagine that He asks you, “So you want to come to My dinner, the marriage supper of the Lamb, but you never had dinner on earth with anyone who looked like Me? You are going to a marriage supper that includes all races, and each one of them is precious in My sight.”

Not only does Jesus love the little children, but He also loves all children, teenagers, young adults, moms, dads and senior citizens. Red, yellow, black and white are not only precious in His sight, but we are all equal when we stand before the presence of God. We are created equal, and we are respected as equal when we stand at the judgment seat.

My father taught me that I would stand at that judgment seat alone. He won’t be there beside me, nor my mother, nor my wife, nor my pastor. I, and only I, will be the one to answer to God for the reality of my thoughts, my attitudes and my words.

I grew up in a home where I was taught that racism is a sin and that racists will not be in heaven. Yet, the reality is, my father and mother were both raised in the South.

My parents fought their upbringing every day of their lives. My father stated, “I fight racism in my heart every day.” He knew it was wrong, and he made sure his son grew up knowing it was wrong. What an admission! The way to fight racism is to address the biases and prejudices within ourselves first.

When I watched the video of George Floyd’s death and heard him desperately cry out, “I can’t breathe,” I grieved. My heart goes out to his family and to his life that was lost too soon.

I recall this story from Scripture, found in John chapter 12: One day, some Greeks came to see Jesus. They said to Philip, “Sir, we want to see Jesus” (John 12:21b). At that moment, Jesus unlocked three extraordinary principles when He said this to the disciples:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit”(John 12:20-24). Please notice the three things Jesus was teaching:

—”Unless a grain of wheat falls”: Heavenly Father, we repent. Forgive us for the demonic and deadly sin of racism.

—”Into the earth”: Forgive us for chasing shadows of the flesh instead of trusting Your blood. We have hidden in the darkness of our hearts, our homes, our churches and acted as if this were not our problem but someone else’s.

—”And dies”: Heavenly Father, kill everything in us that does not represent Your abundant life, Your revealing light, Your redeeming love.

Let us repent and change profoundly. True change pours out of the heart into action.

I encourage you to be actionable. If you felt a twinge in your heart when I asked you to imagine Jesus wondering why your table was not more diverse, ask yourself how this can change.

We must explore areas of personal conviction to create a visible change in our lives.

You’re beautiful. I see Jesus in you.

Have a great week.