It's a Small World After All

There are a lot of things in this world that most of us haven't seen. We tend to think that the world is a diverse place filled with people and things that are foreign to us and far away from us.  In some ways that is true.  Most of us have no concept of what life is like in India or Saudi Arabia, or Poland, or Kenya or China.  

On the other hand the world is a much smaller place than it  once was.  Ironically disease has had a way of bringing this fact home to us. On the heals of World War I the world suffered from a flu pandemic that killed over 50 million people.  It is estimated that during this episode over a fourth of the world's population had a case of influenza. Quite simply,  the war caused interactions with millions of people who would otherwise not had interactions with each other.  Thus, a disease that could have been more localized in former days spread all over the world.

This explains in part why the recent spread of the corona virus is of such great concern.  This particular strain of corona is a different strain than the one that had previously been known.  Therefore, once the new cases involving a new strain of the virus began to appear in significant numbers in a remote place in China , it also became a concern in this part of the world and indeed the whole of the world.

One would think a viral outbreak in China would be of little importance in our country.  However, there is a plethora of trade between China and the rest of the world.  None of us are without products that we've purchased that have come from China.  It once was the case that one would have to spend days and weeks on a ship to travel the world but with air travel most parts of the world are only a day's journey from each other.  Therefore viruses can more easily travel from place to place.  

Corona has traveled from China with major outbreaks in Italy, South Korea and Iran.  There have been a small number of cases in our country with two so far in Georgia brought by travelers returning from Italy.  

That corona would come to Georgia was inevitable with the Atlanta airport being the world's busiest and a hub for world travel.  Thousands of persons from all over the world pass through the Atlanta airport on a daily basis.  In addition to the aforementioned travelers who visited Italy, it stands to reason that someone at some point from somewhere in the world has passed through the airport carrying the virus and coughed, sneezed or touched a door knob, escalator rail or elevator button.

It is best left to health experts and epidemiologists to discern what needs to be done to combat this virus or how serious it really happens to be. The one suggestion that can be offered is that this is a public health issue at this moment and not a subject for political debate; however, considering the current political climate it is inevitable that it will be a political football.

Those things said, we must not ignore one lesson this virus is reinforcing and that is our world is a smaller place.  One can drive around the streets here in Athens and see persons from numerous  cultures and nationalities. The church I pastor, Tuckston United Methodist Church, has members of various national backgrounds.

Products that are advertised as "Made in America" most assuredly have some components that were made in another country.  

The headquarters for Kia Automobiles may be in South Korea but a substantial number of Kia's are built in West Point, Georgia.  BMW stands for Bavarian Motor Works but a BMW purchased in these parts was likely built near Greenville, South Carolina.  Mercedes-Benz are produced between Birmingham and Tuscaloosa in Alabama.  The really is no such thing as an "American car" or a "foreign car" these days.

Our farmers who grow way more food than we can consume in this country are dependent on selling their goods overseas to take care of the surplus production. Our gas prices are based on what is taking place in the global oil markets as much as they are based on events in our country.   Many of us may be familiar with customer service call centers that are located in other countries.

Whether we like it or not the world has come to us.  As followers of Jesus Christ we are reminded that we are instructed by him to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations." (Matthew 28:19a NRSV) For many years this was viewed by the church as a call to send missionaries into different parts of the world to offer the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This was done by preaching of course, but also through building hospitals, feeding the hungry, digging wells and establishing schools. 

While such ministry still takes place today the truth is that one doesn't have to travel around the world to "make disciples of all nations." We are getting closer on this planet.

What are we to make of all this?   What is evident is that we are not isolated in our world.  In the end we are in an interdependent world.  What happens in Athens, Georgia can make a difference in Athens, Greece.  What happens in Cairo, Egypt can have an effect on life in Cairo, Georgia. (Yes, I know they aren't pronounced the same but you get the point.)

Rather than responding to a smaller world with fear the call for God's people is to embrace the opportunities our smaller world gives.