Unity and Diversity

The vision John receives includes the healing of the nations in the new heavens and new earth. I could not help to think of the beauty the next age will be.

God gives humans the ability to be creative. When I think about all of the various cultural expressions of human creativity, it is truly remarkable.

The foods, the music, the arts are just part of the beauty of human expression. To think that in the age to come, God will restore and heal the nations and will keep the diversity

that is found in human expression. We can experience this in this age to a degree. In Christ, God has reconciled people groups as well as individuals.

The body of Christ is truly a tapestry of God’s grace. We need to celebrate the diversity of cultural expressions of worship, fellowship and just being in community together.

The church is to be a “sacrament” of grace pointing to what God will accomplish in the age to come. This is why the arch enemy, Satan, works overtime to divide and harm the unity of the body of Christ.

We cannot be responsible for every Christian community, but we do have a responsibility to “maintain the unity of the Spirit, through the bond of peace”

(Ephesians 4:3) in the community that God has connected us to. My constant concern and prayer is that God will grow us into a beautiful tapestry of His grace.

We can celebrate our diversity within our unity in Christ. I believe He is doing that here at ERCC. Pray for God’s protection and a continual outpouring of His grace!

  Pastor Fred