Salt & Light
February 22, 2026
Dr. Paul Cannings
When I came to America in 1973, I was forced to learn a lot, I was 15 years old, a high school senior, turning 16 five months after arriving. I entered a racially divided school in Dallas, Texas, coming from a county mixed with numerous races. Because I came from what many considered a “third world” country, some laughed at my accent, others thought I was primitive, and some Afro-Americans avoided me, believing it would set them back socially. I remember sitting in the student center, realizing having a friend is not going to happen. It wasn’t until college that I found an Afro-American friend who took the time to answer the many questions I had – questions that were never addressed in American history textbooks.
I was amazed that a country could call the people who shaped its constitution “Founders” when the American Indians were already here. After studying slavery, I could not understand, how Bible-believing Christians could fail to pursue healing and reconciliation, especially when Scripture clearly commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves, fulfilling “the whole law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40; the entire Old Testament)
The nation of Israel was the vessel which God planned to execute His salvation to all mankind (Gen. 12:3). That nation endured slavery, yet God liberated them and established them as a great nation. Paul reminds us in Galatians 3:28-29, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.” (NASU) God’s salvation plan states that His Son came to save the world (John 3:16). How can God so love the world but those who claim to love Him despise someone because of their skin color?
The challenge we face is to remain committed to who the Lord says the church is. We are the pillar and support of truth (1 Tim. 3:15). The Holy Spirit resides in each believer (John 14:16-17; 1 Cor. 3:16-18) and the church corporately (Matthew 16:17-19), which is the source of truth. We are the body of Christ, and from this body, just as it was in the case of Israel, the Lord reaches the world (Eph. 1:22-23).
When Christ returns and raptures the church, all nations will be gathered before Him (1 Thess. 4:16-17; 1 Cor. 15:51-52; Rev. 15:4). At that time, He will separate sheep from goats (Matt. 25:31-33) not by ethnicity, but by obedience and faithfulness. Remaining focused on this calling makes us salt and light (Matt. 5:13-16) in a country with such a complicated and painful history (John 17:20-24).
As a church, we must love (John 13:34-35), forgive, respect, and honor one another. We must remember this country’s history so that we never repeat it. The only hope is the church.