Mark 15:21*
_And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country..._
AN AFRICAN WHO CARRIED THE CROSS
One of the most spread lies in recent years is the idea that Christianity is a religion of the white man. Those behind this lie are trying to revive African traditional religion by linking Christianity to Europe and colonialism.
The danger of this lie is clear. If the average Christian in Africa begins to see his faith as foreign, he will begin to see it as an imposition by colonial masters for the purpose of control and subjugation. And that is already happening. In recent times, many Africans have started going back to traditional worship because they think they are returning to their true roots.
After much study, I can boldly tell you that Christianity is not an American or European idea. If we are to point to the region of the world where Christianity began, it is safe to say it is the Middle East, the ancient Near East. And guess what? Africans were Christians from that period, long before colonialism ever came.
It will interest you to know that the first human to physically carry the cross after Jesus was not a Roman, not a Jew from Jerusalem. He was an African. Simon from Cyrene, in modern day Libya. God arranged it that an African's shoulders would touch the wood of salvation.
History tells us Cyrene had a large Jewish community. Simon had likely traveled for Passover. He did not volunteer. He was compelled. Soldiers forced him to carry the cross. But that compulsion became his calling.
Think about it. Simon was just passing by. He was a stranger on the road, minding his own business. He did not plan to be part of the story. Yet God pulled him into the very center of redemption. That is how God works. He often uses ordinary people who were only passing by, and turns their interruption into an assignment.
Tradition says his family became believers. Mark mentions his sons, Alexander and Rufus, as if the Roman church knew them well. Romans 16:13 also mentions Rufus as chosen in the Lord, and his mother as a mother to Paul. This means the cross did not just touch Simon for a moment. It changed his whole household. A man who was forced to carry a cross went home and raised a family that served the Lord.
Your African identity is not an afterthought in God's redemption story. Africa was at the cross from day one. Colonialism is not what brought us Christianity. Satan is only trying to cancel your faith to promote his own fetishism.
Since the man who carried the cross for Christ was an African, it is symbolic for every man of colour. We must live a cross centered life and walk with the Lord daily. To carry the cross is not only to suffer for Christ. It is to stand with Christ, to follow Christ, and to let His life show through our lives.
So rejoice, oh Africa! You have been in God's redemptive plan from day one. Do not let anyone make you feel that your faith is borrowed. Do not let anyone make you feel that your African background is a disadvantage in God's kingdom. God put Africa in the story at the beginning, and He will keep Africa in the story to the end.
*Soul Search:* Have you ever felt ashamed of your faith because someone called it a white man's religion?
Lord, thank You for including Africa in Your story from the beginning. Help me carry my cross with dignity today. Amen.