Today’s reading:
My Selection:
It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Micah 4:1-2
Xenophobia is defined as “fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign.” [1] Those strange and foreign things may include language, dress, food, and customs. At the heart of this attitude is the idea that one’s own way of doing things is the best or only right way.
A Worldwide Kingdom
The Church of Jesus Christ has spread to every nation of the world as foretold in Scripture. Jesus sent His followers to make disciples of all nations and so they did. The gospel unites us across national and cultural lines but it does not obliterate cultural differences, at least, not entirely. So there is no place among God’s people for xenophobia. We ought to welcome those of other cultures and be careful about imposing our culture on them unless a violation of God’s word is at stake.
No culture is without sin, but there are vast areas of culture which are left to our discretion. For example, from the Bible we understand that polygamy is sin. Some cultures allow or even promote it. As the gospel enters those cultures it impacts practices like polygamy and those who come to believe will seek to conform to Scripture, despite their culture. There is no reason to expect that every area of every culture will be changed by the Bible. Modest dress is a principle but western dress is not.
Enjoy the beauty
The kingdom of God is global, encompassing many nations and cultures. Enjoy the beauty of this diversity that has already begun and let there not be found xenophobia among us.
For more reflections on today’s reading, see the corresponding reading in my book Cover to Cover: Through the Bible in 365 days.
[1] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/xenophobia
Comments