Since my childhood, I have always been drawn to people who look and speak differently than me. My earliest hobbies included teaching myself elementary phrases in major world languages, collecting maps, and befriending immigrant students. Few things intrigue me more than tapping into the beautiful mosaic comprised of Earth's myriad cultures. My inner nerd tells me this love for cultural anthropology was cultivated through my appreciation of the ethnically multifaceted universes of Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and The Elder Scrolls. Conviction tells me that it's a divinely-inspired passion.
Few of my family members share my enthusiasm for the customs of people who aren't southern Americans. I often hear lamentations asking why missionary efforts aren't better utilized in the United States or why government benefits aren't geared toward homeless veterans as opposed to immigrants, and perhaps this rhetoric is warranted. There is a time and place for Americans to passionately voice concerns for their homeland. But in my mind, such concerns are never justified when used to scapegoat the "other" and refuse them care and compassion. The refugee crisis was particularly relevant in regards to this issue. My desire for the American village to be more proactive in showing hospitality to refugees fleeing for their lives was received with mixed feelings from my friends and family, and my rather outspoken disdain for a certain populist presidential candidate (you can guess who) was met with my being called a "globalist" by an individual of a more conservative persuasion.
At the time, I had no idea what the term globalist meant. Dictionary.com describes it as "theattitudeorpolicyofplacingtheinterestsoftheentireworldabovethoseofindividualnations." This may be more or less true in my case, but for some, this term also carries a more negative meaning, asserting that the globalist agenda is to "create a self-regenerating power structure that through lies and deception seeks to control everything and everyone on earth." I know nothing about this. I'm not a conspiracy theorist who concerns himself with fearmongering talk of a New World Order or the future political agency of Nicolae Carpathia. But I will say this: I am only as "globalist" as the Kingdom of God is. As a Christian, I am a citizen, an ambassador even, of the Kingdom of God (2 Cor. 5:20). This position takes precedence over any form of citizenship I may have in an earthly kingdom. I am a foreigner in this land (1 Pet. 2:11), but in the Kingdom, the concept of a foreigner is....well, foreign. Galatians 3:28 states, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, and there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
The unifying power of the Gospel should not be lost to us. Though we may feel separated by ethnic and sociolinguistic barriers, the Gospel is meant to free us. However, let us also realize that culture is a gift, and I wholeheartedly believe the face of God can be seen in the cultural expressions of the Bedouins, the Nepalese, the Native Americans, the Kenyans, the Romanians, and in every ethnic group on Earth! My point is that culture, through the Gospel, unifies us in Christ. We should appreciate the beauty of our Father's diverse world. We should welcome those who look, think, talk, and smell different than us. I am not talking about cultural appropriation, nor am I talking about one-world assimilation, I am talking about the multicultural Gospel! Our Kingdom consists of citizens from every tribe, tongue, and nation (Rev. 5:9; 7:9). So just as our citizenship is a heavenly citizenship (Phil. 3:20), it is also a global one (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8, 13:47; 1 Chr. 16:24). It is the Kingdom of God on Earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:10).
To quote one of my favorite philosophers, Leo Tolstoy, "I know that my unity with all people cannot be destroyed by national boundaries and government orders" (My Religion, 1884). Indeed, my unity with all people will not be destroyed, but rather, strengthened through doing all that is necessary to fully recognize the image of God in faces that would otherwise be ignored or turned away because of ignorance and xenophobia. That, my friends, is my "globalist agenda."
