I don’t know if you have ever been in a new place far away from home, around people you have never seen before, surrounded by a culture unfamiliar to your own. It’s funny how we never really think about people outside of our own little world. We should, however, because God made them in his image as well.
Luke tells us in Acts 17:24-26 that “(24) The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. (25) And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. (26) From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.” Every person throughout the world was molded by God. The boundaries of his or her lands is different from our own, but they are still God’s most beautiful handiwork.
The World Wide Breath
Yes, that 24-year-old man in the suit on the phone was given life by the breath of God. The 60-year-old couple feeding the birds? Same thing. What about the chef who just prepared this absolutely delicious plate of fish and chips set before me? Yes, God breathed life into him as well whether he knows it or not.
Yet it isn’t just the humans who received the breath of life. The plants and animals did too! Even the funny looking Aussie ones that I have never seen before (Google the Australian white ibis, trust me it’s a weird one).
It might be hard to wrap your head around but try your best. Picture a famous place in your head that is far away from where you are. Got it? Now picture crowds of people that you have never met, seen, or heard about before. Done?
My Own Experience
As I sit here and eat my lunch along the banks of the Yarra River, that exercise is living all around me. All those people received the breath of life from God. They are his children too! Yet many do not know this or worse they reject it for something else. Much of that has to do with the cultures they were raised in confined to the boundaries of their lands.
As Christians, it should be our goal to reach those lands and people who life off the same breath as us and tell them where it comes from. It comes from Jesus, no matter where you are or where you come from!
Reflection Questions
- How did today’s surroundings expand or challenge my understanding of God’s creation?
- What can I learn from how people here live, worship, or find hope?
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