One Under God

We live in the United States of America. Sadly ironic these days. But how should united look like in a country also known as a "melting pot" of cultures and races? What did united look like in the early church as it spread from one region to another? What is the purpose of our union as a human race?

Read Paul's words:

11 "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—"                                                                   ~ Ephesians 4:11-15

Did you catch that? Did you catch the diversity for the purpose of unity? God, through Paul, is explaining the importance of diversity in Kingdom work. In this case, He refers to commissions. I am going to assume there was something about those appointed to evangelize that made them different from the prophets. I'm also going to assume the qualities that made one suitable for the office of prophet were unlike those suitable for that of teacher. A variety of talents, circumstances, education, finances, etc., equipped them for their calling with the purpose of one goal: a ministry that would build up the body, bring individuals to a place of unity and maturity for the glory of God.

God created diversity and uses it to bring glory to His name. No one should be ashamed of anything God has given them; not their pigmentation or features, or their talents, or their heritage. It's not like we have a say in those things. Diversity is cause for celebration, not segregation or intimidation. Hiding or denying our differences leads to over-correction. Hating or demoralizing another race in an effort to fix the hatred and demoralization of another is still racism. None of this leads to unity. Unity is understanding there is one goal -- to glorify God -- and seeking His guidance in blending those differences to reach that goal. Without people of different backgrounds and talents banding together and teaching the truth about God and His work, the disciples in the above text would have remained children -- immature in their faith and tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine; they would have never known the unity of the body of Christ (v. 14-15). How powerful it is when people of obvious differences come together and testify to the same truth! 

Sadly, discrimination and injustice do exist. Sin demands that those things exist; Satan demands those things exist. But, diversity and unity exist as well, by God's design! In Christ, there is forgiveness of the very sin that causes us to pervert diversity, and in Christ, there is the redemption of broken vessels. The differences given us by God -- talents, backgrounds, education, culture, geography, and yes, skin color -- facilitate the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the only hope for a cursed world (a world created by an infinitely imaginative God), to every square inch of that world. Lifelong relationships can be formed based on things we perceive in the first few minutes of meeting someone. When the gospel is spread by diverse individuals to other diversified groups, those relationships can be a catalyst for God's glory. The glory comes in the purpose for the relationship and the fruit it bears, not in whether it appears diverse or homogenous to human beings.

Dare to live differently. Dare to love others for their differences. Dare to take this country back to one nation under God. And we'll give Him the glory together.