Being Open Mindedنموونە

Being open minded about people 

Col 3:11 – “Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all”

In the portion we read today, Peter sees a vision of all kinds of animals. Being a traditional Jew, from the heartland of Israel, he found it hard to think of eating forbidden meat. God was trying to show Peter what was ahead of him and what He wanted Peter to do--meet with the Gentiles to share the good news. 

It is human nature I guess, for people to ask you where you are from when we meet in a group. In India, we specifically have a knack of dividing ourselves into smaller and smaller subgroups, based on where we are from. When we meet someone who speaks our own language we feel a lot more comfortable. It is common for us to lapse into our local lingo even when we are in the midst of others who don’t understand the language we speak. As Christ’s followers, we are called to be inclusive (Col 3:11).

Our inherent nature sometimes can be a deterrent to reaching out to people around us. When I was single, I was used to stepping in and stepping out of church services, without speaking to anyone at all. But then, God in his mercy gave me a  wife, who happened to have a friendly disposition. In the church we eventually joined her influence helped me, though it did take me a long time to become comfortable striking a conversation with people I met for the first time.

Many of us are comfortable with those of our own age group but find it difficult to relate those much younger or older than us.  In today’s workplace we have to be willing to work with or even work under much younger people and so it is crucial to be willing to build bridges with young and old alike!

Prayer: 

Loving heavenly Father, give me a heart for people around me, beyond barriers or color, race and language and age differences, and help me reach out to them in friendship. In Jesus name,  Amen.