THE NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was founded back in 1909. Its mission is to secure the civil rights for people of color. Back then, leaders took notice of the pain and suffering people of color were enduring and came together to do something about it. Common suffering often unites people to work together– to relieve their pain or to achieve other worthwhile goals. Biblical history has some notable examples. King Solomon’s worship of idols led God to split his kingdom into two factions. Both kingdoms continued to deteriorate into wickedness until God decided to let both be carried into exile. Both their captors oppressed and harassed them until they began crying out to God for relief. In mercy God sent them messages that one day relief from exile would come. One messenger was the prophet Ezekiel. God spoke to him (CH. 37) to say, “I will gather the people of Israel from among the nations. I will bring them home to their own land from the places where they have been scattered. I will unify them into one nation.” One day God will fulfill this promise just as He fulfills every promise He has ever made.
