We all come to God’s multiethnic table in different ways and at different paces. God welcomes you to his table just as you are. He knows who you are and what you can handle. He knows where you feel excited and where you feel intimidated.

God has put key experiences in your life to prepare you to be a person who loves who you are in Christ and who loves those who are different from you. Here are some questions for your reflection and for discussion.

1. What has your journey been like? Can you identify a few “light bulb” moments from your past: when you first became aware of race, when you first encountered persons from a different racial/ethnic/cultural context or when you learned to care about another people group? Do you have a story of bonding with another culture? Did you seek that out, or did you stumble upon that experience?
2. How did your family raise you? What are a few positive memories of making friends with people of color?
3. When did you first learn to use “3-D glasses” when reading the Bible? [See the Fall 2004 issue for Doug’s use of this metaphor.] What questions do you ask as you study sections of Scripture in order to grasp the ethnic and cultural elements?
4. How might you take a next step with a cultural group or friend? What cultures are you drawn to? Who has God put in your life?
5. Paula recounted a few examples of being persistent in learning even though she made some mistakes. Mistakes are an inherent part of the journey in our multiethnic world. What mistakes have you made in a multiethnic encounter? Ask God to give you the courage to step through your fears and awkwardness and keep trying.

Co-author Doug Schaupp once taught a seminar on a college campus that was about three-quarters white students. He asked participants to fill out a survey about what prevents them from crossing ethnic lines. Here are some of their very honest feelings and questions. What can you relate to here?

“Where do you feel inhibited in extending yourself in love to those of other ethnicities?” Some responses:

• I don’t know how to put myself in other people’s shoes. I have no convenient social connections with people of other races.
• I fear feeling misunderstood. I fear being seen as a racist.
• I do not want to offend. I feel ignorant. I am intimidated.
• I am hurt.
• I feel guilty, embarrassed and ashamed.
• I feel apathetic.
• I feel isolated and alone.
• I feel frustrated.
• I already feel reconciled.

“What are your questions?” Some responses:

• What are the right questions to ask people of a different race? How do I start?
• How can I get people of different ethnicities to open up to me? How do I avoid hurting people?
• How do we solve the problem of people not feeling comfortable in a mostly white setting?
• How do I deal with my guilt?
• Does race matter to God? What defines race?

What are your own questions? What are you feeling about extending yourself across ethnic lines? Share these with a friend or two. Bring them to God in prayer.

Excerpted from Being White: Finding Our Place in a Multiethnic World (IVP). Used by permission.