Celebrating of independence, culture, and beautiful unity:

This past Sunday was July 4th which is, of course, United States Independence day.  (It is also my birthday which I do feel is equally important if not more important!! 😉 Ok.  I’m definitely kidding.) I also live in Storm Lake which is a very small but diverse town in Iowa.  Every year as a part of my non-profit, I get the chance to be in the parade in Storm Lake, Iowa with my team as well as some of the youth members that we serve. Their parade is huge and includes a lot of different cultures and organizations.  Something I absolutely love is that all of the nations that live in Storm Lake are well represented and are celebrated.   There were floats with different flags of the countries that are represented in the area of Storm Lake, and there were traditional dresses and clothes walking amidst the parade.  Pictured below are traditional dresses from El Salvador, for example.  (Also, those are some girls that are a part of the program that I work at in the summer).  

This reminded me how beautiful the world that God created is.  God created it with a whole bunch of different peoples with different clothing, traditions, flags, etc.  The Lord was a great creator.  Sometimes we can live in our very separated lives and live only amongst those who look and act like us, when in reality we should be living in a world filled with diversity.  I believe it was so important that Storm Lake took time amidst the American Independent celebration to enjoy and celebrate cultures of many different races that are in the United States.  In the United States, we can often get focused on the “American way of life,”   when in reality, there is more than one way to live the American way of life.  The cultures and people groups that live in the United States have different ways to live in America, and that is what should make the United States unique and beautiful.  

This parade showed me what God is hoping to see when we are in heaven with a majority of different cultures and different nations.  This is mentioned in Revelation 7:9-10, “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”  The Lord is desiring the world to come together to praise him and love him.  This is because God loves everyone equally, and they are all his creation.  God wants us to love each other.  When we have moments where we see diversity and cultures coming together like they did in this parade, we see a bit of a glimpse of our lives praising God together in heaven.  

I believe that this is a good reminder that we need to take the time to get to know and love our neighbors.  This is a reminder that when the Lord was talking about loving our neighbors, he was not just talking about the person that live right next door.  Rather, he was talking about loving all nations, and spreading God’s word, so that way every single nation and tongue could be in heaven.  This was the final commandment of Jesus, and this should also be a main priority of ours.  This is what God’s word says in Matthew 28:18, “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.” 

My best advice or suggestion when it comes to learning and loving about cultures is to take time to learn about other cultures and then actually take the time to get to know them.  I suggest making sure to read what is going on in the world. (I still struggle with this).  This way we can know what certain nations are struggling with and what is going on in order to better love them.  I do this more through reading books about history and culture about different countries.  Then when I am working with IJM, I am also learning about all the work that is going on in different countries.  When we take the time to understand and learn about others, then that is the only way we can really love them and if needed, teach them about God’s word.  

Another thing that has really helped me appreciate and respect other cultures is working in organizations that collaborate multiple cultures together.  The Bridge of Storm Lake in Storm Lake Iowa works to serve many different youth from different nations and cultures which gives us time to appreciate every single one of them as we love and serve the youth.   Then of course, I also volunteer with IJM or International Justice Mission that helps nations all over the world.  When you have a chance to actually work with cultures and get to know multiple members of said culture, you learn to appreciate their thoughts and opinions.  They can give a better insight to how to do things and how to best think.  Similarly it is important to make friendships with those who are from different backgrounds and cultures.  It is very important to have friendships with those who have had a different life-story, so you can continue to learn different ways to think and handle life.