My friends, I am so excited to share this song with you and the story of how it came to be!
A few years ago, I became acutely aware of how social media and texting in this era have made it so easy for people to be unkind to one another. I noticed that people would say things that they most likely would not say to someone face to face. With all of the cyber-bullying that is present in today’s culture in high school, junior high and even elementary grades, I started thinking about writing a song that would influence kids to love one another and celebrate our diversity instead of criticizing it.
During the time I was formulating the idea for this song in my mind, I also started wondering if my daughter Rachel was gay. I tried to ask her about it, but she didn’t want to discuss it. Later, I found out that she felt she did not have a place within the Christian church she was raised in, and she was terrified that she would also not have a place in our family or in my heart if we knew her “secret.”
When she finally told me she was gay, she confided in me some of the cruel things people had said to her….sometimes in the name of Christianity. Every time I thought about this, it made me so sad! The very essence of Christianity is the teachings of Jesus Christ…and Christ didn’t look down on those who were different from Him or even those who chose not to follow Him. Instead, He spent much of His time with those that most of society at that time deemed as “outcasts” and “unclean.”
This confirmed to me the need to write a song that focused on 1) our Savior’s love for each of us and 2) His example of how to treat others, even those who are different from us. Jesus loves each of us unconditionally exactly as we are! And I believe that we can learn from His example to love all of God’s children just as they are! They don’t have to look, think, act or believe like we do for us to love them.
I have vowed that I will do better at following not only His example, but His abiding invitation….which also happens to be a commandment…. “love one another, as I have loved you.” (John 13:34)
I’ll show love to all God’s Children;
Jesus showed me what to do.
For said He, “Come Follow Me;
Love them as I love you.”
I hope you will join me….
P.S. At one point, I worried about how people might react to the words, "Jesus loves God's children, whether they be black or white," because they might think I am calling out different races. While these words can refer to the color of one's skin, in my mind, the words "black and white" in this context mean so much more. They are symbolic of being completely different or opposite. No matter how different we think we are on the outside or inside, God loves us just the same. He created us. We are His children and His masterpeices, not His mistakes. I believe He would rather we appreciate our diversity and see the beauty in those differences.