Flashes of green and blue leap out amidst black in stark contrast. My eyes are drawn to the array of vibrant colors. What do I see? It is a rare sight in South Dallas—a glimpse of tropical wildlife. As I have crisscrossed the campus of CFNI, I have occasionally witnessed free-flying tropical green parrots hopping, flying, and mingling among the local black crows. They certainly stand out! When I first spotted a couple of them on the lawn I did a double-take. They are not native to Texas. The only logical conclusion is that they were someone’s pet at one time or another. But now they are free—free as a crow.
Somehow, they now belong in an ecological setting much different than their own original habitat. Oddly enough, the crows don’t even seem to mind them being around. From an outsider looking in, it is obvious that the parrots are very different than the crows, but the crows really don’t even seem to notice. These interesting parrots can teach us some important principles about missions, and really reflect what a missionary is in another culture.
Missionaries, like the parrots, are versatile. They often remove themselves from their “natural” surroundings and go to new, sometimes distant places. Once there, they may have to learn a new language. What used to be easy and considered normal, now becomes intense and frustrating. They have to eat foods that are foreign to them and learn to live life in a whole new way. In short, they must adapt to their new surroundings.
Missionaries, like the parrots, must bond with the new host culture. Birds of a feather need to learn to “flock” with new and different birds. Missionaries, no matter how long they live in another culture, never quite fit in. Their skin doesn’t change its color. Their hair color and facial features remain the same no matter how long they remain. But their interactions, social awareness, and way of life must endear them to the new culture. Effective missionaries build bridges of love and trust into the culture to the point that the locals begin to see them as insiders, even though they obviously still stand out. Effective missionaries don’t want the “crows” to even blink an eye at their tropical green plumage!
What an amazing experience this is for the missionary to finally “fit-in” a completely different culture and environment. It is at this point that the missionary’s message becomes the most effective. People listen and respond to people they have come to love and trust. I bet if those parrots could preach the Gospel, those crows would listen and repent! They are not perceived as outsiders—somehow they have become one of them. And that is exactly what God did for all of humankind. God became one of us, so we could hear and understand His message. Can we do anything less?
So, the next time you walk around the campus of CFNI, look for those rare parrots in the midst of the crows. When you spy them, lift up a prayer for a missionary you know. And remember, missions isn’t for the birds, it’s for all of us.
The post Birds of a Different Feather appeared first on Christ For The Nations Institute.
