CULTURES: AN ENORMOUS TASK
Sydney has major shopping malls. I mean big and crowded with people. I couldn't help thinking that as I looked down the floor of Westmead Shopping Centre in Sydney, there within a short space, were over 300 people walking towards me. And that was one level where I couldn't see very far ahead. And I think I make a difference in the world when I have a Church of over 100 people. That's nothing compared to the myriad of people and cultures who have no idea of who Jesus is or what He did on the Cross for them.
People from all over the world walked through the mall I was in last night. Ten people passed me and I realized that most of them were born in different countries, had a different culture to me, wore different clothes to me, spoke a different languages to me. Pauline Hanson would be appalled. I was amazed at the diversity of cultures who passed by and fascinated by our multicultural society.
At Hillsong Vision night last Tuesday night, Pastor Brian Houston asked how many people were born in Australia. As I looked around I thought that the majority of people had raised their hands, but then he asked how many were born in a different country. It seemed to me that more than half of the people in that auditorium put up their hands. It was hard to say. As I stood in the shopping mall last night, I could see that this was true. Sydney is so much more multicultural than I had thought.
Genesis 10:25 (NLT), as Noah's descendents are named we come to Eber who had a son named Peleg (which means "division"). He was named, it says, because "...during his lifetime the people of the world were divided into different language groups.
God bless you Church as you realize the enormous task ahead of us and the wonderful diversity of cultures around us as we seek to reach this generation for Christ.