The food was different. I felt I was eating a similar dish for breakfast, lunch and tea; usually rice plus various meat options.
Respect is very high in their culture. The locals would bow to you and take you hand and tip their head towards you in a deep gesture of respect.
I was often asked to get my picture taken with people. One family of four children who had asked for a photo proceeded to thank me for the opportunity with the usual bow before the youngest, a two-year-old, grabbed my hand.
I wasn’t sure what he was doing, then he slowly brought his head forward till it touched my hand. His slow and deliberate response was no doubt modelled by others and he was keen to give it a go. So cute.
Probably the thing I struggled with the most was the preferential treatment I was receiving as a western guest to the conference. We had front row seats reserved and different dining areas to the locals.
At one stage I was beckoned forward to a front seat at the same time as an older Papuan man was trying to find a seat. He was turned back as I was asked forward. I felt very uneasy, but to reject the custom would have been disrespectful to their culture.
Despite the many differences in language and culture, there was one constant that is the same the world over: Jesus is their saviour just the same as he is mine.
Local Papuans may see themselves in a humbler state than westerners, but we share the same love for God, we are set free by the same sacrifice that Jesus freely gave. Our pathway to peace with God is no different the world over.
The Apostle Paul writes, ‘There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.’
This is a profound statement, especially given the social differences of the time, yet this was the reality of the freedom that being ‘in Christ’, gave.
How is this relevant for us today?
Despite our social advances we are probably more divided than ever before. The incidences of hatred, division, mistrust and abuse are at an all-time high.
Jesus put it simply: we are to love God with all our being and love others as we love ourselves. This transcends all culture, language and status, and places us as one.
I encourage you to acknowledge Jesus as the only one who can set us free from our self-centred living. We have so much to discover!
Pastor David Lloyd
Community Church Kyabram
