Divine Diversity

Tuesday March 10, 2015

If you´ve ever strolled through a botanical garden or an art museum, you know that diversity makes for beauty. For some reason, however, this doesn´t seem to work within the church.

As we grapple with how our local expressions of the body of Christ are separated by issues of culture, race, socio-economics and theological distinction, it´s easy to believe that our diversity is the culprit for our disunity. Uniqueness and fine-tuned distinctions, however, are part of God´s original creation, intrinsic to the created world that He called "good" (Genesis 1:3-4).

In Genesis there was orderliness and harmony, a beautiful fusion of distinct realities. There was creature and creation, male and female, light and darkness, night and day, work and rest. The Creator separated "the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth" and ordered time around the rhythmic distinction between evening and morning (vv. 6, 8). God´s design was not for a world where everything was the same, but rather a world where all things (with all their multifaceted uniqueness) were gathered together in Him. Creation´s harmony existed because of its shared life in God, not because of any flat unanimity.

As God´s revelation unfolds, we discover that God exists as a trinity, the mystery of God being three-in-one. In God, there is unity and diversity. Humans, those who bear the Trinity´s image, also reflect God´s own reality. We, because of God, share a unity that can never be extinguished. But we are also diverse, each of us offering our unique selves within God´s world.

In Jesus, may we find ourselves living in harmony with one another, even as our unique selves shine brighter. - Winn Collier

Read
Genesis 1:1-31
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day" and the darkness he called "night". And there was evening, and there was morning - the first day.
And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse "sky". And there was evening, and there was morning - the second day.
And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. God called the dry ground "land", and the gathered waters he called "seas". And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation : seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning - the third day.
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. God made two great lights - the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning - the fourth day.
And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." And there was evening, and there was morning - the fifth day.
And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds : live-stock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
So God created man in his own image, 
In the image of God he created him; 
male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground - everything that has breath of life in it - I give every green plant for food." And it was so.
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning - the sixth day.

Revelation 7:9-11
After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.
And they cried out in a loud voice : 
"Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb."
All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshipped God.

Question to Ponder
What unique gifts has God given you? 
How has He infused your uniqueness with purpose and love?

**Article taken from ODJ (Our Daily Journey with God) March 2015 - May 2015 issue