Recently, Kelly Lessel one of my former student ministry residents at Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock and now attending the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas, wrote to share with me the following conversation she had with her daughter, Olivia, a couple of weeks ago. According to Kelly, it went something like this ...
Kelly:
"Olivia, do you like going to Mosaic?"
Olivia:
"Yeah, it's a pretty place."
Kelly:
"What makes it pretty?"
Olivia:
"Cause they have different kinds of children there, like Libby. She helped me put my cross together one day. She's my friend."
Kelly:
"What makes Libby different?"
Olivia:
"Cause she's my friend."
Kelly:
"What does Libby look like?"
Olivia:
"Well, um, she lost a tooth."
Of course, in encouraging the multi-ethnic church, I am not at all suggesting that the rich diversity of culture be cast aside. Indeed, Revelation 7:9 envisions our future in heaven, a place where "every nation, all tribes, peoples and tongues" will walk, work and worship God together as one. Nevertheless, as James teaches, there are to be no distinctions in the body of Christ; no one person or people-group is to be privileged beyond another (James 2:1-4). For God - like Kelly - is no respecter of persons.
"Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you (God); toddlers shout the songs that drown out enemy talk, and silence atheist babble."
Psalm 8:1, 2 / The Message
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