For Americans, living abroad in Europe these days has definitely created some interesting moments. Like when Girard, the local policeman we see every day, stopped me in the middle of the road to ask who I thought would be the next President. Or when Mohammed, the Algerian man who owns The Golden Wheat boulangerie, wants to debate the war in Iraq each time I buy a baguette. Or the worried woman I met in the park who wants to know how the financial situation got so bad in America. It's hard enough to give well-informed answers in my mother-tongue, let alone talk politics and global macro-economics in French. But somehow, I find the words to express my thoughts or admit my ignorance of the bigger issues at play. Since we don't have cable television and our understanding of the French newspapers is spotty at best, most of our news comes via internet or from family. As a communication and journalism major at UCSD, I studied mass media, but living overseas has created a heightened awareness of how much we live at the mercy of the information mediated to us.As a Christian who has been called to show compassion among a religious group that is often in the cross-hairs of conflict, we need to be diplomatic and discerning about how we portray our identity on foreign soil. We are primarily ambassadors of Jesus.
Here in Paris, I have developed a friendship with a Christian man from North Africa who disagrees with most of the politics of America, but is still convinced that God is using America for His purposes in the world. For instance, he encouraged me as a new missionary because his wife became a Christian through an American missionary couple in Toulouse. Now he has become my prayer partner and tutor to help me learn how to pray in French. Even though we may see things very differently, we share something that overrides our opinions. Namely, the love of Christ and His perspective on life and a greater destiny for the nations.
Sometimes I think it is healthy to ask, "What does the world think of us?" But it is more important to ask "What does God think of us?” and then let the world make up their mind.