The Unreached
There are more than 10,000 various people groups in the world often defined by the language they speak. There even may be numerous people groups within a small country. Although they look the same and seem to have cultural similarities, their language is distinct.
When a people group has less than 2% that are Christ followers, they are considered unreached. The good news of Jesus Christ is simply unknown to the majority. The unreached have no clue that Jesus Christ came to die for them, to heal them, make them whole, and provide eternal life. Who will reach the unreached?
The majority of people in the world will not travel more than a few hundred miles from their home. Even with modern travel and technology such as the airplane, this is still true for many Americans. Most will not set foot on foreign soil. If they want to shine their light throughout the world, it will remain rather local. Yet, with such significant change going on in other countries and cultures, the world is coming to us. Many internationals, refugees, and those of other faiths are moving onto U.S. soil especially large cities, Nashville included. That means many unreached people groups have become our neighbors.
Are we going to reach out to our neighbors, the unreached? Or, will we avoid them because they look different, talk different, and live different from us?
Many internationals live in this country because of circumstances that were out of their control. Some are trying to start a new life in a world with an incredible amount of freedoms and resources awaiting them. America truly is ripe for new beginnings! What if the new beginning we offered them didn’t end with new customs and learning English. What if we loved them enough to tell them about the next life to come? Of course, that conversation doesn’t need to occur immediately. It begins with hospitality and kindness. The last thing they need to think is that Americans just want to sell them religion, but we don’t actually care about them.
Many Eastern civilizations (east of Europe) live within cultures based on honor and shame. There are many ways to show them respect. It is a tremendous honor to invite them in, make them a meal, or provide for their daily needs. It is also respectful to receive their invitation to enter their home for a meal. What are creative ways we can reach the unreached peoples all around us?
Think about it. Most Americans don’t want people to judge them. We want a safe, comfortable, and inviting situation. Ironically, we do really well at judging foreigners and looking past them. This, however, is not the example Jesus Christ gave us. While He was the foreigner on this earth, He served us. Maybe one way we can show honor to Him is to honor the foreigners around us.