Faith Beyond Borders

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:19

A friend once explained it to me that the Japanese wear red on Easter—Resurrection Day to them—to honor Christ's shed blood. We need to realize that Christianity is not limited to America, but in fact has and is spreading out far beyond our borders.

If God loves everyone, irrespective of political borders, then we need to do a better job of fellowshipping with our international brothers and sisters in Christ. But how can we get to know them?

1. Read A Different Newspaper- American television's "world news" offers little coverage of stories outside the U.S. And newspapers have limited space in which to display six continents' worth of news. So why not broaden your source of news coverage? Almost every nation has a newspaper or interest group devoted to covering its news. Hundreds of newspapers are a click away. You'll find many of them at www.world-newspapers.com. My favorite source for global politics is the International Herald Tribune at www.iht.com. If your interests are specifically Asian, try Asahi Shimbun's Asia Network at www.asahi.com/english/asianet.

2. Take A Personal Interest- Do you know the origins of the coffee you drink? Ugandans hope you do. Uganda's cash crop used to be tobacco—before Americans decided smoking was bad. Now their biggest export is coffee because Americans have decided drinking coffee is good. Did you know your daily Starbucks run had global implications? Now, whenever I see "Uganda" in a headline, I read the story. Why? I am consuming a product from there. Pay attention to the people around you; find out where they're from, where their roots lie, and take an interest. The next time they celebrate their culture, join them! Observe Chinese New Year. Take part in Scottish Highland Games. Eat your heart out at a Festa Italiana.

3. Vacation Somewhere New- Travel expands our knowledge as well as our world. Yet many of us vacation in the same place every year. Do you know at least enough Spanish to say "please" and "thank you"? Then most of South America is at your doorstep. With just English you can navigate Australia, New Zealand, the Bahamas, Singapore, or (surprise!) India. India now has the largest English-speaking population in the world. Or start closer to home by sampling the different cultures in North America. If you normally vacation in tropical Florida, head to the Southwest or the wild coasts of Maine.

4. Enjoy International Art And Music- If we don't have the time or money to travel; we can still explore foreign landscapes through art and music. For example, you may never appreciate Cézanne's landscape paintings until you visit southern France and have stood at the very places he'd painted. But once you visit you may discover that you disliked the paintings only because they are unfamiliar—art from other cultures can be very fascinating. From the elemental shapes in African sculpture to the detailed work of Asian printmakers, you can learn something about the world your brothers and sisters in Christ live in by studying their art. Visit a local cultural museum or go to a large city to see a traveling art exhibit. Similarly, people have always turned to music to express emotion. So what melodies do our brothers and sisters in Christ sing as they go about their day? What words do they whisper? Are the songs about freedom? Pain? Celebration? Visit Harmonia Mundi's online catalog at http://harmoniamundi.com/usa/catalogue for traditional music from European countries. Or visit World Music's website, www.worldvillagemusic.com/anglais/artistelist, for music from around the globe.

5. Check Out Foreign Books And Movies- Every time we read a foreign book or watch a foreign movie, our vision of the world expands. The word foreign comes from a Latin word meaning "on the outside." Reading a book or viewing a film is seeing the world from someone else's perspective. Most writers and film directors search for truth when they practice their craft. When they discover it—even in the mundane or the secular—they also discover God. And you can too.

Here are some suggestions to get you started:

Movies: Hotel Rwanda (South Africa/ Britain/Italy/Canada, 2004); Le Retour de Martin de Guerre (France, 1982); Maria Chapdelaine (Canada, 1983); Shall We Dance? (Japanese version, 1996); Babette's Feast (Denmark, 1987); Il Postino (Italy, 1995); Life Is Beautiful (Italy, 1997).

Books: The Little Prince by St. Exupery (French); Crow Lake by Mary Lawson (Canadian); The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukyama (Japanese); Polite Lies by Kyoko Mori (Japanese); Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi (Iranian).

6. Practice A Hobby Internationally- A friend has committed to participating in one of her husbands hobbies so they can spend more time together. To her surprise, she found she actually enjoys golf as much as she appreciates a romantic dinner with just the two of them. They have now golfed on four continents. In so doing, they have had a glimpse of various lifestyles and cultures.

7. Picture Jesus- If Jesus were alive and here in human flesh today with the cultural references He had when He walked this earth, He'd probably feel more at home in Near Eastern cultures than He would in America. And He certainly wouldn't speak English. However, we know that all cultures radiate a part of God's image because they're comprised of people God created. When we explore other cultures, we gain a fuller portrait of our Creator.