Devotional in Song BLACK OR WHITE
In Christ, color fades and glory shines.
Sometimes a simple lyric reaches deeper than a thousand debates, and Michael Jackson’s “Black or White” does exactly that. “If you’re thinking of being my baby, it don’t matter if you’re black or white.” In a world that still trembles under the weight of prejudice and suspicion, such a declaration feels almost prophetic.
And yet, long before pop stars sang about unity, the Spirit of God thundered it from the pages of Scripture—declaring that the ground around the cross is not just level, but sacred; and in that holy place, color melts into glory, and ethnicity bows before a crucified King.
Jesus did not come to build a monochrome church; He came to build a blood-bought family, gathered “out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). His heart was never confined to one people group, one shade of skin, or one cultural pattern.
The Christ who touched Samaritans, healed Gentiles, praised a Roman centurion, and welcomed Ethiopians is the Christ who stands today—arms wide, scars visible—saying, “Come to Me…all.” And in that word all, every earthly distinction dissolves in the light of His love.
Paul echoes this melody when he says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek…for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). He is not denying ethnicity—He is redeeming it; He is not erasing culture—He is sanctifying it. In Christ, identity is not diminished; it is transformed.
The skin we wear becomes a canvas upon which grace is painted, a reminder that God delights in variety. Just as the heavens are not beautiful because every star is the same, the church is not beautiful because every face matches; the church is beautiful because redemption has woven a tapestry that only the cross could create.
Michael Jackson’s refrain—“It don’t matter if you’re black or white”—rings true because it speaks to something eternal. Racism is not merely a social problem; it is a spiritual rebellion against the image of God. It is sin dressed in pride.
But when the gospel takes hold of the soul, love becomes the new instinct. Walls fall. Suspicion fades. And the church begins to look a little more like heaven, where every voice blends into a single song: “Salvation belongs to our God” (Revelation 7:10).
So let your heart say what Scripture has already declared: in Christ, color is never a barrier—only a blessing; never a wall—only a window through which we see the creativity of the God who made us. And may the church once again be the place where the world looks in and hears, with fresh wonder, the song of a kingdom where grace reigns—and where every brother and sister, black or white, stands equal beneath the shadow of the same redeeming cross.
BDD
