The night air in Caracas, Venezuela, was warm and thick. The jammed streets smelled of panaderies (local bakeries), street tacos, and gasoline fumes. My friend and I arrived at the apartment building where we’d been invited for dinner, and a gregarious man with a smile as wide as a sunrise opened the door and embraced us. 

We sat with his family at a long wooden table holding massive platters of beef, rice, and plantain. My friend knew Spanish, but I could only listen as the others swapped stories and laughed. Occasionally, my friend paused to offer a summary or to translate a question they’d posed. Although for hours I understood almost nothing, I never felt like an outsider. Just the opposite; their loving welcome enveloped me. I was in a city I’d never visited before, meeting people with a completely different history and ethnicity with whom I couldn’t even verbally communicate. And yet, because they offered me warm hearts and open arms, I felt like I belonged. 

Paul reminds us that if we believe in Jesus, we’re called to always live out this kind of radical welcome. We’re to “accept one another . . . just as Christ accepted [us]” (Romans 15:7). We’re to welcome one another, to open our hearts wide, and gather others in. This should be our posture toward everyone—even those who are different from us. Paul addressed conflict between Jews and gentiles, but it’s the same for any differences in ethnicity or social class, any supposed barrier. Cultural differences shouldn’t be obstacles but rather opportunities to demonstrate the same radical welcome Jesus extends to us.

Winn Collier, Our Daily Bread Author

Our Daily Bread Ministries in Indonesia is supported by the freewill offering of individuals in Indonesia, who through their gifts enable us to continue to bring the life-changing wisdom of the Bible to many here. We are not funded by any church or organisation.

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