Why then, do we cross cultures?

If, as claimed in my last post, crossing cultures is basically the hardest thing you can do, why do so many Christians do it?

The bible is a story, among other things, of God choosing to pour out His blessing in one particular place and then spread it out from there. God is not a rainstorm that soaks every square inch equally with living water. He is a lightening strike that comes with overwhelming power and light into one specific spot which then echoes into all the surrounding areas.

So God chose one man, Abraham, for his blessing. Then God worked through Abraham to bless his family. And then the family became a country, the nation of Israel. And then God used this nation, through Jesus, to bless anyone. Finally then, and this is the stage we're currently in, God is using the church that Jesus established to bless everyone.

Jesus said, "go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

It's the story God is telling and He's inviting us into it. To be a singular point of love that does not keep to itself but overflows and saturates everything around it. This is a model of expansion/evangelism/conversion (whatever term you want to use) that is inherently unfair. It seems like spreading his love equally would be a much more equal and, honestly, effective way to reach the world. Why then does he choose to do it the way he does?

"God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." (Genesis 1:27) The word "man" is interesting. The way we use it, it can mean one of three things. Most commonly, it means a single male human being. Other times it can be used as a singular term for a group of people, specifically men, or even including women. The latter being synonymous with the term "mankind", all members of the human race. This verse is referring to more than one person ("them") so it can't be using our first meaning. And it's referring to both men and women ("male and female") so it can't be the second meaning. It has to be the third.

God created mankind in His image. So I am not created in the image of God, you are not created in the image of God, WE are created in the image of God. God expects us to live out our lives in community because we cannot fully experience him on our own. In the same way, God calls us to cross cultures because WE cannot fully experience God without THEM. And the same can be said for them without us.

So I guess missionaries (me included) are pretty amazing, huh? Have we just altruistically taken on this agonizingly difficult task for the good everyone involved? Is this just one giant sacrifice for us? Or is there more involved?

"The hard... is what makes it great." (Jimmy Dugan, A League of Their Own)

I firmly believe, through reading about Christ, through experiencing Him, that Jesus didn't come to make our lives easier. He came to make them better. And so this may be the hardest thing I've ever done, but it's also the best.