By Melanie Mar Chow

But we all, with unveiled faces, looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:18 NASB)

I only needed to look in a mirror each morning to be reminded of who I am. My mom would tell me how she came to terms with being different in her school growing up. I remember being excited to go to school as a child. It was fun to be in a room with people the same age as me, the same size as me plus or minus 5 inches, height or width, at least in kindergarten. It didn’t take long for that excitement to wither away when a pointed word from an honest child told me that I looked different or did things that were different. Within a year, it changed. Why was my hair straight and long, not curly? What was the black paper I was eating instead of a sandwich? Why did I not have a chocolate cupcake in my lunchbox? Why was there was a cookie with a piece of paper?

I was thankful that my parents were both teachers. They shared their life experiences with their children. One example was taking us on weekend excursions to learn about how Seattle originally belonged to the native Americans. These trips cleared up why there were many hard-to-pronounce geographical names on the map directing our journey. 

We also were taught to try other foods, as well as learn different languages and cultural values. My mom often influenced my teachers as a member of the Parent-Teacher Association. She encouraged my third-grade teacher to have our entire class go to a Mexican restaurant to taste and see why there was more than just rice and beans. 

When that was not enough, my parents sent us with grandma to church to learn that God had something to say about race. I learned from reading the Bible that numerous different ethnic groups were involved in God’s unfolding plan of redemption. God created people in His image. So then, all races and ethnic groups should have the same equal status and equal unique value! I thought. My cultural background of being Chinese American on my dad’s side and Japanese/Chinese American on my mom’s side was even biblical. Inter-ethnic marriages were present in Scripture from as early as Moses. The heart of the gospel requires compassion and the message of Jesus to go to all God’s people (Matthew 28:19-20). 

As I grew older and learned of the challenges happening in the world from the late ’70s forward, the Bible also held answers for me. Being in Christ, regardless of differing ethnicities, my church’s focus on only being a Chinese language church was not the goal. I prayed to hear God’s word in English. I even asked my Chinese grandmother for permission to move to attend the Japanese church of my great-grandmother. The church had English language services. Many other cultures were part of that congregation, including Korean, Japanese, Pacific Islanders, and African Americans. Culture did not limit who could participate as a member of the body and family of Christ. Moving to California after graduation and landing at LAX was a reminder that an international airport means many different people to meet and cultures to explore. A call to missions opened doors to vantage points of culture, not from magazines but the precious sharing of a home-cooked meal offered graciously for Christ. 

Revelation (5:9, 7:9) gives us a picture of the climax of the Bible in a multi-ethnic gathering of every language, nation, people, and tribe gathering to worship at God’s throne. Unfortunately, though we are in 2021, we are still pretty far from that picture. I am encouraged in the week after Pentecost that we still have the Holy Spirit to further my hope.

More so, are we moving in faith to live in the resurrected life in Christ, to be encouraged to take bold steps for reconciliation and move God’s people forward? At first, having to see the government take steps toward Anti-Asian hate was hard to wrap my mind around. But I am hopeful that if yielded fully to the Holy Spirit, all things are possible. As I now look in the mirror this morning with God’s understanding, I can always hope for change to see something new of His clearer reflection, despite the haze of the moment.  

Rev. Melanie Mar Chow serves God through Asian American Christian Fellowship, the campus ministry division of the Japanese Evangelical Missionary Society (JEMS). She has been an ordained American Baptist minister since 2004. A Pacific Northwest native, she currently lives with her husband and daughter in Southern California.