Whether you and I want to admit it or not!

Whether you and I want to admit it or not, as Americans our tendency when it comes to people from other cultures and traditions is that we usually think that we are better. We think we could teach them a lot about life and how God really wants us to live, worship Him, raise children, eat food, etc.

The Lord has been confronting this pride within us and challenging us to learn from our brothers and sisters in Rwanda! Yes, there are some things that the Lord might want to use us to teach them, but likewise there are some things that He wants to teach us through them!

We all have different perspectives based upon our worldviews, culture, experiences, personalities, passions, gifting, etc, that shape the way that we see life, how we interpret Scripture, and how we incorporate our faith into our lives. God is a magnificent and creative God who created the numerous languages and cultures among the many diverse people groups on Earth. The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization states that “Because man is God’s creature, some of his culture is rich in beauty and goodness. Because he is fallen, all of it is tainted with sin and some of it is demonic.”(Perspectives: Chapter 71, "The Willowbank Report: The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, P. 483.)

If we were are all sitting in a circle around a globe each of us will have a slightly different perspective of the globe. There are parts of the globe that you would see that I would not be able to see. And others would see parts of the globe that you and I both cannot see. But if we could gain perspective from each other, we would be able to see or understand more clearly what the globe looks like.

It is my belief that every culture has a somewhat different and unique perspective on God and Scripture, and that if all of these correct perspectives could be put together, we would see and understand God, His glory, and His universal plan and purpose more completely. Although He is far beyond our comprehension and we will never fully understand Him, His ways, or His thoughts – Isaiah 55: 8-9! I think that this, working together, could empower our churches to be more of what God desires them to be. Also because of culture, we all have blind spots (areas that are distorted by our culture) when we interpret the Bible, which distorts the beauty of the way we live out God’s will in our lives and the Church.

May the Lord help each of us to be willing and ready to learn from people around us who have a different perspective so that we might more fully live in the Lord's plan and will for our lives. May His Kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven!