Reference no: EM133151817

Yet God is over each of us, no matter our cultural background and context. We see a dramatic picture of a unified church in the Book of Acts, Chapter 2. Chapter 2 gives us the birth of the New Testament Church:

"When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

"Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in their own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: 'Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?' . . . Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, 'What does this mean?'"

How amazing is it that the very birth of the church would be marked by speakers of all different languages being able to understand each other! What does this passage suggest to you about the importance of cross-cultural understanding to God? How then should we address cross-cultural communication in the workplace?