Living Stones

"As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house." (1 Peter 2:4-5).

Stones are all different sizes, shapes, and colors. Can you imagine building a house out of stones? As an engineer, I think I'll take steel...it's much easier to deal with. But God chooses us, broken, misshapen, awkwardly shaped stones we are, to build His house.

This weekend I attended Living Stones, the winter IV conference for our region. This one was different than the others I've been to. It was focused on ethnicity and how it plays a role in our lives. We split up into small groups that were ethnic-specific...I learned about being white...which I never thought there was anything to being white before. It was kinda fun, and it also was enlightening when we mixed back into the groups and shared what we had talked about in our ethnic-specific small groups. When one of the black girls asked why white girls think having a big butt is a bad thing, I almost died. I also learned that not all Asians are good at math (though a lot of them are). And in the Asian culture, they are very concerned with the well being of the group as opposed to white people, who are very concerned with their own success individually. White boys also confuse black boys about their tendency to wear shorts in the winter (they also confuse me on that one...)

Knowing about these ethnic differences is SO useful when it comes to...I don't know...everything! And knowing how to react to these differences is helpful too. We don't all want to be the same...which I think is too pronounced in the American culture. We want to pretend like we're all the same person, with the same traditions, cultures, and ideas. Heck, we can't even say "Merry Christmas" anymore without being reprimanded for being "politically incorrect." But seriously...everyone's different. If we try to squash that, then we don't develop an appreciation for each other as people, and we don't learn to love one another.

Maybe I should figure out what Kwanzaa actually is. Like, I seriously have no idea. But if I were to get out of my comfort zone and meet and converse with people who are different than me, I can start to understand their ideas, their perspectives, and learn new things that I couldn't learn from people who are just like me.

Not everyone is a white, middle-class, straight, Christian individual. We are allowed to have different values, we are allowed to disagree on certain topics...it''s about accepting those differences and getting to know one another for who we are that we can all be happier and have a more successful community. There is so much racial injustice in this world still, it's unbelievable. And there's so much segregation that tears people apart. It's wrong, and we need to do something to stop it. God has a heart for people of every tribe, nation, and tongue, and so should we. Something as simple as hearing the stories of an international student from Taiwan or standing up when your friends make a joke that's demeaning for people who are different than you can make all the difference.

In His house, we don't choose the color, shape, or size of the person that is placed next to us. He wants us all.

"As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house." (1 Peter 2:4-5).