Excerpted with permission from the Colossians Bible Study by Lifeway Adults. Copyright 2026, Lifeway Press.
One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is the unique bond that is given to us with Christian brothers and sisters from all over the world. Revelation 7:9-10 powerfully reminds us that the true church is a "vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language." It's always a joy to meet a believer from another culture and to be encouraged by how God is at work all over the world. These resilient followers of Jesus give us fresh eyes to see our own culture.
Several years ago, we hosted a Christian leader from the Asian nation of Nepal named Raj. Our church was hosting a worldwide conference on adoption and orphan care, and we agreed to serve as a host home for visiting internationals. We have an adopted son from Nepal as well as deep ministry connections to this beautiful but tiny nation, so Raj was matched with us for the week.
Because I was his transportation for the week, Raj got to be one of the family. He rode with me as I took the kids to school, to soccer practice, as we went to the grocery store, and to church. It was daily routine for us, but he seemed to enjoy it.
As a first-time visitor to the United States, he didn't hesitate to ask questions. All of this grass you have, who plants it all? While I've visited Nepal multiple times, before his question, it had never occurred to me that since Nepal is mountainous, seeing an abundance of grass would seem odd.
As I transported the kids to school one morning on a rural road, Raj asked: What kind of animals live in your jungles? Do you have tigers? No, but that would make the drive to school much more interesting!