Photo and Commentary ©2024 by Maylan Schurch
Sabbath, September 21, 2024
When I was a kid, this box of crayons would have deeply interested me. As you can see, it is labeled “Colors of the World,” and represents a variety of humanity’s skin tones. Back in my day, a box of Crayolas contained only one to color people with, called “Flesh Color.” It was a rough approximation of my own skin—except that it wouldn’t have worked to tint a realistic drawing of my farmer Dad’s permanently sun-browned arms.
In my small South Dakota hometown, we had no African Americans, and no Native Americans (who seemed to sense they’d feel out of place among the Germans and Swedes.)
But the Bible tells me that God’s eyes look fondly down on all of us. “For God so loved the world . . .(John 3:16 NKJV) And the following Scriptures, and many more, make it crisply clear that everybody is invited into eternity, if they’ll accept.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28 NKJV)
Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” (Revelation 14:6 – 7)
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:9 – 10)