Foreigners Are Not Home Yet
We live in a foreign country, China, which has some distinctive cultural features and is in a period of rapid development. We say it is developing. There are many things about the lifestyle of the natives that are different than western and developed countries. They do things out of tradition that is normally born out of available resources and necessity in the past. One example would be that many people in China eat almost anything, things we do not eat like bugs and unusual animals (to us). It seems so disgusting and we wonder why they would eat that stuff and enjoy it. The logic behind it is simple. Some regions of China have known extreme poverty and starvation over the centuries so that survival meant eating whatever was around. If those times of hunger and poverty lasted a long time, over many years, a lot people would have developed a taste for the foods they had to eat. If donkey, dog and lizard are all you have to eat, you might conclude that you feel healthier when you eat them than when you have nothing to eat at all.
There are many things that are different here, things that we may think are not all that healthy or smart. But these are their ways and they are happy with them. They are not our ways and some of the things can be a bit jarring after a while even though we like the people and are comfortable here.
All of the foreigners among us understand that, while we are in China and love the country and the people here, we can, and will, never be Chinese. We are foreigners. We understand life differently, we have different habits and tastes and we behave differently.
As with all expats, foreigners in foreign lands, we band together with one another, having more in common with one another than with the Chinese people in our host country most of the time. Our home is not here and some day we will go back to our home. When we, as expats, get together, we talk about our common understandings and deal with the things that are different or jarring. We eat together, laugh together, share ideas, go places and encourage one another. We have holidays that our host country does not celebrate, so we celebrate the best we can together.
What we are experiencing is a model of what the church should be like. This world is not our home, we are just here for a while. We may be comfortable and like many things around us, but some will be uncomfortable or jarring. We are in no hurry to leave, but we know we will eventually go home, home where there are many others like us who understand and love us. We call that heaven. While we are here in this world, but not of this world, we should be supporting one another, encouraging one another and enjoying the company of one another. We do not have to be alike to do this. Our expat group has a 38 year age span and the 10 of us represent 8 different countries from 4 continents. Our common bond is our foreign status and the similarities of our homes.
Christians have much in common. First, this world is not our home, heaven is where we will go. Our common book is the Bible. Our common Lord and ruler is Jesus. We are Christians, foreigners in a foreign land.
There are many things that are different here, things that we may think are not all that healthy or smart. But these are their ways and they are happy with them. They are not our ways and some of the things can be a bit jarring after a while even though we like the people and are comfortable here.
All of the foreigners among us understand that, while we are in China and love the country and the people here, we can, and will, never be Chinese. We are foreigners. We understand life differently, we have different habits and tastes and we behave differently.
As with all expats, foreigners in foreign lands, we band together with one another, having more in common with one another than with the Chinese people in our host country most of the time. Our home is not here and some day we will go back to our home. When we, as expats, get together, we talk about our common understandings and deal with the things that are different or jarring. We eat together, laugh together, share ideas, go places and encourage one another. We have holidays that our host country does not celebrate, so we celebrate the best we can together.
What we are experiencing is a model of what the church should be like. This world is not our home, we are just here for a while. We may be comfortable and like many things around us, but some will be uncomfortable or jarring. We are in no hurry to leave, but we know we will eventually go home, home where there are many others like us who understand and love us. We call that heaven. While we are here in this world, but not of this world, we should be supporting one another, encouraging one another and enjoying the company of one another. We do not have to be alike to do this. Our expat group has a 38 year age span and the 10 of us represent 8 different countries from 4 continents. Our common bond is our foreign status and the similarities of our homes.
Christians have much in common. First, this world is not our home, heaven is where we will go. Our common book is the Bible. Our common Lord and ruler is Jesus. We are Christians, foreigners in a foreign land.
posted by Peggy at 3:04 AM
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