The thing about Italians…they are passionate. About a lot of things. And in all the right ways when it comes to family.
I had train issues getting into Florence and instead had to spend the night in Bologna where I met Markino. Giosuè, my friend in Florence, called to see if he could help me in Bologna. Markino agreed and met me at the train station, walked me to his apartment where a girl from his church, who was going to let me sleep on her couch, met us and he cooked us dinner.
While he cooked, he started telling me his story of how he became a believer. It’s a pretty amazing one but the thing that stood out the most to me is how he talked about his brothers and sisters in Christ. He continually referred to himself as my brother and his friend as my sister. He talked a lot about how it’s so incredible that our family is so big that you can find your brothers and sisters anywhere you go who are willing to help. He was amazed at how you can literally travel anywhere and know that you have family who can help if you ever need it.
Then I met Giosué in Florence and he spoke the same way. Always referring to brothers and sisters. Even referring to himself as a missionary which I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone living in the States say. In America, missionaries tend to be associated with being overseas while Christians are the local ones. This is something I spoke about when I was raising support to go to Albania the first time and almost hate to use that word because you are oftentimes put in a box (usually on a pedestal). Missionaries are not special people with a special calling. Where ever you are is where you serve and serving and sharing the gospel with those around you is your mission. The details might change, the location may vary – but mission does not. And we should all be living on mission.
But back to the family of God. It was so great hearing them talk about their brothers and sisters. And mean it. I really did feel it in how they talked to me and treated me (and it wasn’t just the Italian accents I was feeling). It really did feel like we were family. I never once felt like a stranger or someone who was imposing or someone they had just met.
In the States, we refer to each other as brothers and sisters. But in my experience it’s usually in a more formal way – like a Sunday morning church kind of way. Not in a because we are both believers, we are automatically family let’s do what we can to help each other out without even thinking about it kind of way.
I wonder what would happen if, like Markino and Giosué, we didn’t just talk about all believers as our brothers and sisters, but we felt it, believed it, and treated all believers as our own family. Not as friends or as strangers who believe the same thing I do.
I fall into that mentality a lot. I think because it’s easier to distance yourself from people – especially people who need help. It’s always easier to just focus on yourself and your needs. But I wonder what would happen if, like them, we would be more excited to help each other out. That we’d be more intentional about taking advantage of opportunities – just because we are excited to help out family.
I can’t help but think what this could mean on a local level but also internationally. When we meet our brothers and sisters around us who need help and when we hear of our brothers and sisters in the next town, state or country over, what if we began to think of them as brothers and sisters instead of Christians. I wonder how different the world would be. And how much more space we’d be opening up for God to work more freely in and around us and to be seen and felt by our brothers and sisters even more.
If we could, like Markino said, see just how big the family of God is, I think it would open our eyes to a lot more of how God is working and moving, not just within our immediate family, but with our brothers and sisters around the world.