A few weeks ago, the news went viral that Hello Kitty is not a cat, but is actually a 3rd grade girl from London. Growing up as a Sanrio fan as a little girl, I was quite shocked to hear the news about Hello Kitty. It didn’t make any sense to me, since she has cat-like ears and whiskers, so I’ve always assumed she was a cat. I discussed this news with a coworker, and we were quite frazzled the whole day.
As I think about the news that Hello Kitty is not actually a cat, it makes me think about identity and how we perceive others. We may judge people based on their external appearances and make assumptions of them. These assumptions can shape the way we interact with someone. We gravitate towards people who look like us, and it is a challenge and takes intentionality to move towards people who are different from us.
Since I’ve grown up and lived in Los Angeles my whole life, I’ve been in multicultural settings, and have greatly benefited from friendships with people who have very different upbringings and backgrounds than me. Yet, I have to admit, that I still find comfort in being around other Asian Americans, who have similar cultural values than me. However, if I only interact with people who are similar to me, I miss out on learning other people’s perspectives and seeing a fuller picture of the image of God, since different cultures exhibit different aspects of the image of God. Since we, as humans, were made in the image of God, different cultures reflect different parts of His image, and we need to learn from one another and build cross-cultural relationships with each other to see a greater picture of who He is and understand His reconciliation in greater ways.
In Revelation 5:9, the living creatures praise the Lamb, singing,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
Looking at this picture in Revelation of people from every tribe, language, and people, and nation, worshipping at the throne room of God, we see the great power of the Lamb’s redemption work that is for all nations and all peoples. Catching this vision is motivation for us to engage in Kingdom work here on earth in reaching every nation and every people, and also engaging in cross-cultural work in demonstrating the Kingdom.
I remember going to a Cru conference in college some years ago in Korea, and worshipping with 18,000 other college students from around the world. It was an amazing experience, getting to hear so many voices, in different languages, worshipping God together. It was like a glimpse of heaven, and motivates me to reach out to people who are different from me, and to continue to learn from those around me, because often times, I learn things that I often don’t expect. Although we may not learn things that are as shocking as Hello Kitty not being a cat, there may be other things that we can learn from others when we look past our assumptions and perceived notions of others, to understand people for who they really are, and how they can reflect the image of God to us.
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