Last week I went to Canada with my parents to clean out the remainder of my uncle’s belongings, who passed away four years ago. It was an interesting trip, primarily because I had never been to Canada before. I flew into Calgary and then took a considerably smaller plane down to Lethbridge, where the University that my uncle taught at is located. Here is what the inside of that second plane looked like:
There were many things that happened on this trip that I could tell you about, but the one thing that stood out to me the most was how easy it is to forget how diverse and eclectic the world is when we stay in one place for too long.
In my entire life, the longest I have ever lived in any one city has been five years. Each time I moved, especially cross country moves, I was always pleasantly surprised by how different the local culture was, especially with regard to food and accents.
We live in a very diverse and wide world, but it can be easy for our world to become the world if we don’t get some perspective and distance from time to time. God calls us to make disciples of all nations, not just the people we already know, or just the people who look like us and enjoy the same things as we do.
This is a very challenging calling, but we also aren’t called to do this alone. God is always with us, and we do everything through Christian community.
If you haven’t in a while, it might be worth it to take a trip to a place where the culture is very different from what you’re used to seeing. It’s incredible what a little perspective can do for us.
Have a wonderful week my friends,
Pastor Alex