When Kirk and Nicole lived in Accra their neighborhood included many expatriates from around the globe. As we drove around the city I noticed the diversity so I asked Kirk about his neighbors. Of course, Kirk and I had a really good conversation about what it means to be a citizen of one country but to live in another, and then what happens when many cultures commingle in a country not their own. Having always lived in the U.S., I had never really considered what that would do to your personal and cultural identity. I remember spending some time thinking about how isolating and frustrating that must be... never fully feeling like you are a part of either culture fully. Ultimately, I believe it makes a person richer and more complex to carry with them the best of several cultures, but I can also see how it might cause some internal conflict. An American eating groundnut soup, wearing Kente cloth, or pounding fu-fu does not make them Ghanaian. A Ghanaian eating turkey on Thanksgiving, watching MTV, or visiting the Liberty Bell does not make them American. However when Gifty cooks groundnut soup it reminded her who she is and what she is made of. Similarly an American can feel the drive for liberty and what that means about who you are and your value system in a way that gets deeper than skin standing there in front of the Liberty Bell or the Declaration of Independence.
Sitting in a Spiritual Formation class years later I had one of those rare but awesome "a-ha" moments. In an unrelated, but oddly relevant topic, Dr. Voigts said, "Just because we are citizens of God, doesn’t mean we live there. Our passports should be 'Kingdom of God.'"
Exactly.
That explains so much. I struggle with a lot of the rhetoric that is batted around church culture about this world and how much we should participate in it. I hate it when people make declarative statements like movies are from the devil and the internet is just for porn. Really? Because the Holy Spirit has brought me to tears in a movie theater as He quietly reminded me of the breadth of the love God has for me. And, I am presently openly sharing my faith on the internet.
I have that internal conflict. I am spiritually homeless. And so are you! There are things that happen around me that are countercultural to the Kingdom that confuse me, and I have encountered people who aren't yet believers that could not understand my need for prayer or worship or solitude.
We can appreciate, even value the culture of our host land. But we are expatriates and must remember to continually participate in the culture of our homeland. We need to be reminded of who we are and what we are made of. In the context of that Spiritual Formation class I began to perceive the Christian Disciplines as expressions of our culture. Praying, fasting, reading the Bible, attending worship doesn't make you a Christian, but once you are, these are the things that connect you with your true nature. The disciplines don’t make us faithful, they keep us faithful.
Do you live here on earth like your homeland is elsewhere? Are you gracious to the culture in which you live?
May you be reminded that your passport says Kingdom of God!
Soundtrack: Hometown Glory, Adele; I'll Lead You Home, Michael W. Smith
