January 22 | Making Room for Different Cultures Part I | Make Room | Barry Rodriguez

Returning to Paul’s image of the body, we will now explore our very human tendency to want to separate ourselves from those who are not alike in culture, heritage, or language. It’s easy to think the “hands” can hang out over here while the “legs” can hang out over there. But it is only when all the parts of a body are working in concert, both unified in purpose and diverse in giftings, that it can truly grow and become strong. When we encounter different cultures, it is easy to think it makes sense for us to worship separately. However, we will see that God’s desire is for us to represent the diversity of his kingdom to the world, and to be a body which is strengthened by the different gifts and perspectives we bring to the table. If God has brought other cultures into our midst, we can learn how to elevate their voices and contributions to make the whole body of Christ more alive. "The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ." 1 Corinthians 12:12