CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – I am reminded today that the teachings and the salvation of Jesus Christ are for all people in all places.
Lately I’ve been reading my bible, and I’ve been spending time in Romans – it is Paul’s letter to the house churches in Rome – about 30 years after Jesus went to the cross. Romans is an important because Rome was the crossroads of the world in biblical times. If Christ’s message could take hold there, Christianity would truly become a faith for all people. Travelers and traders and sailors and soldiers all passed through Rome, and from there Christ’s message would spread.
I go to church with a husband and wife who will travel to Hong Kong next year. It will be their second mission trip there. Hong Kong today is a bit like Rome then. It is a diverse city with many cultures. I traveled to Hong Kong in 2017. The city of full of both Cantonese and Hun Chinese, Fillipinos, English and other Europeans, Buddhists and people from all across Asia. There are also many Christian churches in Hong Kong. The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist is the oldest church in the city. The marker outside says ‘The Gospel of Jesus Christ preached on this gound since 1849.’
The diversity in my own church, The Cross on Schofield Avenue, is striking. We have large numbers of Hmong, African-Americans, Latinos, Natives and an occasional causuaian at worship each Sunday. People from very different backgrounds who offer their worship side by side.
The Christian church is growing today in Africa, in the Middle East, in Asia, and in Latin and South America. Different cultures, different styles of worship – but the same faith.
How could this be? My answer is this: because fundamental truth rings true from one group of people to another. Christ’s message of saving grace through Him, has truth to it no matter who it reaches. All people. Everywhere.
Chris Conley
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