Same Kind of Different as Me is a great book. Have you read it? If you have not, I strongly encourage you to pick it up. (Reading Rainbow plug: "...but don't take my word for it...")
In fact, I don't want to even call it a book for fear that we might lump it into a general category of books that we'll "get to when we have time".
This is a story. It is a powerful true story of God working in our world today.
It's so powerful that ten people at FBC Norman, OK have decided to gather around a table every Wednesday night for six weeks. We have conversations around this story that challenge root issues of our culture, our faith, and our perspectives.
There is a gentleman that attends this group who on the first day was frustrated with the "whys" of people in poverty. "Why are they in there situation?" "Why can't they get out?" "Why don't they just get work?" As we embark on the journey of the story together all of our hearts are softening. Last night was our third meeting together and I am humbled to watch this particular gentlemen's heart grow. His comment last night was "I am realizing that all these people are people and they all have their own stories." He continued, "If we just treat them as people, that will make all the difference."
What he pointed out is true. Our prejudices and fears cause us to treat people as less than human. Debra, I think the heroine of the story, had the acute ability to interact with anybody (a smelly, dirty, addicted bum or a clean, arrogant, selfish yuppie) and see God in them, the hope on transformation, and a person who could be loved.
Check out the story!
Sounds like a good book. I'll pick it up from the library today.
ReplyDelete