Today was my turn to give a reading from the bible. The news from around the world has been difficult to watch recently, and I feel like there are many ways people are divided. So, I wanted to read something about what makes people the same. It is from Galatians, chapter 3, verse 28.

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

The bible teaches us clearly that everyone is equal in the eyes of the Lord. God created each of us, Christ died for all our sins, and everyone is welcome in the Christian faith.

Recently on TV we see in America, and around the world, people protesting with the message: BLACK LIVES MATTER. It is a movement that is seeking equality in society for people of color, and protection from police brutality. The recent protests were triggered by the murder of a black man, George Floyd, by a white police officer. However, the roots of this unfairness in society extend far back into history.

You may think that this problem isn’t a Japanese one, but it is here as well. I’ve been told, “go back to your country” by someone trying to hurt me. It worked; I’ve never forgotten it. Even in language the Japanese word “gaikokujin”gives the image of two groups of people, Japanese people inside the country and everyone else outside it. In this globalized world, that way of thinking has to change. And, it is yourjob to change it as you grow up and enter society.

Today’s world is divided in many different ways. There are lines on a map. There are people of different colors. There are people with enormous sums of money, and others with nothing at all. In the end, we are all children of God, and should seek to create a planet where we can all find happiness and peace. That is both our right and our responsibility as people on this shared earth.