POST 36: Finding Unity While Keeping Diversity
POST 36
Finding Unity While Keeping Diversity
At our church, we call each other by “brother” or “sister” because we are all brothers and sisters in Christ—because God made us all equal. We treat each other like family. That’s how the church should be, being a whole family in Christ. We’re very connected.
Daniel
I (Kristel) grew up in Miami, Florida. Something I love about Miami is the diversity. If you have a craving for any specific cuisine, chances are you’ll be able to find just the right restaurant to satisfy your appetite. I have friends who immigrated to Miami from all over the world. Getting to know them and their cultures was always fun and interesting. But if I’m honest, there were also divisions among cultures all over the city.
There were neighborhoods and communities for all the various ethnic groups. The Cubans stayed in Little Havana and the Haitians in Little Haiti. Doral was for Venezuelans and Sweetwater for Nicaraguans. Overtown had a majority Black population, while Miami Beach had a majority Jewish population. Each neighborhood and people group had a reputation, and some groups simply wouldn’t mix.
Miami is reminiscent of the ancient city of Antioch, one of the largest and most diverse cities in the known world. Antioch was divided by walls, and ethnic tensions were high. People didn’t want to mix.
In the first century, your ethnicity was determined by your culture and religious background. Jews and Gentiles especially didn’t have dealings with each other. But that all changed in Antioch.
When the church was getting started, mostly Jews were coming to faith in Jesus. Some followers of Jesus began to share the good news with Gentiles in this city, and they believed. Suddenly, these two groups started coming together, so much so that a new identity was born. Antioch is where believers were first called Christians, because they were a new group made up of both Jews and Gentiles. This was a significant cultural breakthrough.
The Christians in Antioch demonstrated unity within diversity. While they came from varying backgrounds, they were able to maintain unity through learning to follow Jesus. That’s because unity does not mean uniformity. God does not require us all to be the same, but he does require us all to treat one another with equal value.
We can preserve who we are and come together in our differences. It makes for a more beautiful, interesting, diverse church.
READING GOD’S WORD
Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. (Colossians 3:11 NIV)
The Lord’s power was with them, and a large number came to believe and turned to the Lord.
When the church in Jerusalem heard about this, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw evidence of God’s grace, he was overjoyed and encouraged everyone to remain fully committed to the Lord. Barnabas responded in this way because he was a good man, whom the Holy Spirit had endowed with exceptional faith. A considerable number of people were added to the Lord. Barnabas went to Tarsus in search of Saul. When he found him, he brought him to Antioch. They were there for a whole year, meeting with the church and teaching large numbers of people. It was in Antioch where the disciples were first labeled “Christians.” (Acts 11:21–26)
REFLECT AND RESPOND
Journaling Questions
What is difficult about maintaining unity within diversity?
Do you have a diverse friend group? If so, what do you love about it? If not, how can you pursue diversity in your friendships?
Pray This Prayer
God, thank you for the beautifully diverse way you created us. Help us all to see the beauty in diversity, and help us to pursue unity within our diversity. We know it is possible because you made a way through Jesus. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Get a clean piece of paper and draw twelve circles all the same size—four rows of three circles each. Starting with these circles that are all the same, draw something different with each one. Faces, animals, emojis, machines—it’s up to your imagination. Look at how much diversity you can create from one starting shape! This is diversity within unity.
THE TAKEAWAY
Unity does not mean uniformity. We can all be different and still belong.