Wandering Through WorldWonder: Chapter 7

King, the goat, is different from Mac and Mica. They all discover this in Chapter 7 and have a good laugh about it. That’s not usually the way it goes, though. For many of us, meeting someone new can be intimidating, especially if they’re different. This tension plays itself out all the time in school as kids work through the process of developing friendships and affinity groups.  

We can’t navigate through life successfully only spending time with people we feel comfortable around. We must learn how to connect with a wider range of people. 

Mac’s tactless approach (asking about King’s big belly) is not the ideal method for identifying others’ differences, but at least he wasn’t judgmental or critical. Kids are funny like that. They haven’t mastered the subtle socially acceptable behaviors so they just say what they’re thinking. 

Even though we can’t follow the same strategy, we can still learn from this kind of honesty and authenticity. Kids are explorers by design. They are curious about the world around them, including the people in it, and they wonder about things that are different. This child-like faith-filled approach to others, this willingness to look past the things that make us different, is a necessary foundation of making disciples for Christ. 

As Christians we have been commanded by God to seek and to save the lost, to go into all the world making disciples, and to spread the message of the good news of Jesus. We cannot fulfill this command AND only spend time with people we already know and feel comfortable with.  

After all, when you take away all the complexity of our day-to-day lives most people, no matter how different they may appear, are looking for the same things: something to eat, people to know and love, and a safe place to sleep. Providing this for the people we already know and love is our duty; being willing to extend this to strangers is our divine privilege as Christians. 

This week in chapel I illustrated how our differences are often our advantage and when we recognize and honor each other’s strengths we make better teams.

One meaningful way you might support this teaching at home is to share your story with your child(ren). Tell them, for example, what your parents had to sacrifice to get to the United States, or how you always loved baseball as a kid. Talk about the things you struggle with and things you love. Perhaps they know the stories already, but, trust me, they want to hear them again. We all have unique histories, heritages, and experiences and as you share your story with your child(ren), their uniqueness begins to shine as well.