My Thoughts About Black History
Cats: This Week's Guests and Topics|MY THOUGHTS ABOUT BLACK HISTORY
When I contemplate black history, I first think about mankind’s connection to the Creator: all three. I think about the decision of the Trinity to make man in God’s image. Then I can’t help but think about the tremendous good that was in man from his beginning. The goodness that literally comes from God.
I think about God’s decision that it was not good for the man to be alone and His creation of the second hu-man: the woman, made, also, in God’s image. As I look back at this time of creativity and absolute genius on the part of God, I can’t help but marvel as I contemplate God’s activity as He creates the man from the earth, then produces the woman from the man. I marvel as I look at this powerful story of unity told in such a short space. The God who created the earth creating a man from the earth but in the image of God and producing from the man, the first earthen vessel, a second earthen vessel, the woman, also made in the image of the Creator.
My mind can’t help but wonder about some details of what these two people looked like. Not for the purpose of determining superiority or even priority: just wondering out of curiosity. Then to learn that the vast majority of scientific studies, including exhaustive DNA research, points to Africa as being the birthplace of humanity. To read on and find that the research that abounds also indicates that the first woman ever was a dark-skinned black woman is intriguing to say the least. And knowing that if the first woman was black and she was taken from the first man, in all probability, the first man was black. To read that some of the research points to China as the birthplace of mankind only to learn that many Chinese point to Africa as their place of origin seems to answer the question. The history of mankind began with black history.
As the thoughts about black history continue to travel through my mind, I often find myself looking at the successes and challenges of mankind, past and present, and contemplating the complexity of our journey in the earth, a journey filled with pleasures and griefs. It’s easy to ask how such an awesome beginning became so complicated. The answer comes quickly when I return to the beginning and review the woman’s decision to disobey her Creator by eating forbidden fruit, then turning to her husband, her head, and enticing him to eat forbidden fruit. Then the breaking of the unity unfolds. Husband and wife hide from their Creator instead of running to Him as children often do when their father arrives. When challenged by God regarding their shame of their nakedness, the husband blames his wife and the wife blames the serpent. Obviously God is not pleased and lets each know the price that they’ll pay for their wrong. When looking at the toll on relationships we see that:
- The woman would bring forth her children in multiplied pain, but she would bring them forth
- The wife would now try to usurp her husband’s authority. Their relationship would now begin to experience struggles and strains, but they would still be husband and wife
- The man would now have to struggle to receive from the earth. But the earth would give of its resources.
- Beginning with these first two people, mankind would no longer have the ideal image of God in them. We would now have a marred image, but we do still have the image.
I think about all this and I realize that this beginning set the stage for the journey of us all. A journey that is illustrated by unity broken, but not destroyed. An image marred but not destroyed. Unity that is not destroyed, but certainly broken. An image that has not been completely wiped out, but has certainly been marred. Both the broken unity and the marred image manifesting very clearly when one son murders his brother out of jealousy.
Man degenerating rapidly and, finally, having his language confused, the people scattered throughout the earth. Moving into different parts of the earth experiencing different climates, their physical features changing in order to adapt and survive in their new surroundings. The shapes of noses and lips of these earthen vessels, human bodies, changing to conform to the parts of the earth that they had not lived in before. Skin pigments changing in order to comply with the rules of the sun in their new environments. Unity broken but not destroyed. Living in different parts of the earth now but still living in the earth. Outwardly undergoing change, but inwardly remaining the same. Still able to experience pain and pleasure. Grief and joy. Still having a tremendous zeal to explore and discover and, yet, a willingness to just settle. – To be continued.
