Dear Brothers and Sisters:<\/p>\n
The death of George Floyd at the hand of a Minneapolis, Minnesota policeman was brutal, unnecessary, and outrageous. We unequivocally condemn what was done to Mr. Floyd and encourage all members of the Body of Christ to pray for Mr. Floyd\u2019s family and for our community, state or provincial, and national leaders. May God bring justice, peace, and reconciliation to our world. It is so desperately needed.<\/p>\n
Further, we condemn racism wherever it exists and in whatever way it is expressed. No one should be mistreated or mistrusted because of the color of his or her skin. As many of us sang as children, \u201cRed, brown, yellow, black, and white, ALL are precious in His sight.\u201d We acknowledge, however, that such mistreatment and mistrust is often experienced by our brothers and sisters of color as they go about their daily lives, and sometimes, very unfortunately, even at the hands of their brothers or sisters in Christ. As ambassadors of Christ, ministers of reconciliation, and representatives of the Kingdom of God, we must not tolerate racism among us. It is evil. The Kingdom of God and of His Son is and forever will be populated by saints \u201cof every tribe and language and people and nation\u201d (Rev. 5:9). We encourage all members of the Church of God (Seventh Day) to demonstrate that kingdom reality here and now.<\/p>\n
Finally, we condemn violence and the threat of violence against people or property. We must always peacefully resist and object to injustice and all things contrary to the Kingdom of God. But rioting, looting, and attacking others is not the way of Christ no matter the injustice one may perceive or have suffered. On the contrary, \u201cthe weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh\u201d (2 Cor. 10:4). We are to love our enemies and to do good to those who hate us (Luke 6:27).<\/p>\n
Rather than allowing ourselves to be sucked into the political and economic agendas of the world, let\u2019s \u201cFocus on Jesus and Follow His Plan.\u201d As individual members and as congregations, may our hearts be broken by the needless pain and suffering we see all around us, the results of man\u2019s separation from God. May we cry out to God for relief and reconciliation. May we \u201cmake the teaching about God our Savior attractive\u201d (Titus 2:10) by the way we conduct ourselves in this fallen world. The kingdom of man will always be divided. The Kingdom of God must never be. May people see and experience our love for God, for our neighbors, and for one another, and thereby know that we are Christ\u2019s disciples.<\/p>\n
Yours in Christ,<\/p>\n
Loren Stacy<\/p>\n
General Conference President<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Estimados Hermanos y Hermanas:<\/p>\n
La muerte de George Floyd a manos de un polic\u00eda de Minneapolis, Minnesota, fue brutal, innecesaria e indignante. Sin lugar a dudas condenamos lo que le hicieron al Sr. Floyd y alentamos a todos los miembros del Cuerpo de Cristo a orar por la familia del Sr. Floyd y por nuestra comunidad, estado o provincia, y por los l\u00edderes nacionales. Que Dios traiga justicia, paz y reconciliaci\u00f3n a nuestro mundo. Algo que desesperadamente necesita.<\/p>\n
Adem\u00e1s, condenamos el racismo donde quiera que exista y en cualquier forma que se exprese. Nadie deber\u00eda ser maltratado o se le deber\u00eda desconfiar debido al color de su piel. As\u00ed como muchos de nosotros cant\u00e1bamos de ni\u00f1os: “Caf\u00e9, rojo, amarillo, negro y blanco, TODOS son preciosos a los ojos de Dios”. Sin embargo, reconocemos que nuestros hermanos y hermanas de color a menudo experimentan tal maltrato y desconfianza en su vida cotidiana y, a veces, lamentablemente, incluso por parte de sus hermanos o hermanas en Cristo.<\/p>\n
Como embajadores de Cristo, ministros de la reconciliaci\u00f3n y representantes del Reino de Dios, no debemos tolerar el racismo entre nosotros. Eso es algo malvado. El Reino de Dios y de Su Hijo est\u00e1 y estar\u00e1 siempre poblado por santos “de cada tribu y lengua, pueblo y naci\u00f3n” (Apocalipsis 5:9). Alentamos a todos los miembros de la Iglesia de Dios (S\u00e9ptimo D\u00eda) a demostrar la realidad del reino aqu\u00ed y ahora.<\/p>\n
Finalmente, condenamos la violencia y la amenaza de violencia contra personas o propiedades. Siempre debemos resistir y objetar pac\u00edficamente la injusticia y todas las cosas contrarias al Reino de Dios. Pero alborotar, saquear y atacar a otros no es el camino de Cristo, sin importar la injusticia que uno pueda percibir o haber sufrido. Al contrario, “las armas de nuestra guerra no son de la carne” (2 Corintios 10: 4). Debemos amar a nuestros enemigos y hacer el bien a los que nos odian (Lucas 6:27).<\/p>\n
En lugar de permitirnos ser absorbidos por los movimientos pol\u00edticos y econ\u00f3micos del mundo, “Enfoqu\u00e9monos en Jes\u00fas y sigamos Su plan”. Que nuestros corazones sean quebrantados, en forma individual y como congregaciones, por el dolor y el sufrimiento innecesario que vemos a nuestro alrededor, consecuencia de la separaci\u00f3n del hombre de Dios. Espero que clamemos a Dios por alivio y reconciliaci\u00f3n. Espero que “hagamos atractiva la ense\u00f1anza acerca de Dios nuestro Salvador” (Tito 2:10) por la forma en que nos comportamos en este mundo ca\u00eddo. El reino del hombre siempre estar\u00e1 dividido. El Reino de Dios nunca debe estarlo.<\/p>\n
Que las personas vean y experimenten nuestro amor por Dios, por nuestro pr\u00f3jimo y por uno al otro, y as\u00ed sepan que somos disc\u00edpulos de Cristo.<\/p>\n
Suyo en Cristo,<\/p>\n
Loren Stacy<\/p>\n
Presidente de la Conferencia General<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear Brothers and Sisters: The death of George Floyd at the hand of a Minneapolis, Minnesota policeman was brutal, unnecessary, and outrageous. We unequivocally condemn what was done to Mr. Floyd and encourage all members of the Body of Christ to pray for Mr. Floyd\u2019s family and for our community, state or provincial, and national […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":25704,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,36],"tags":[971,172,880,1012,131,1013,101,140,1014,707],"yoast_head":"\n