Dear Trekker,
Perhaps no appeal today is more pronounced than the phrase, “celebrate diversity”. It could be one of the most “politically correct” sayings afloat… proof that all PC utterances are not necessarily and intrinsically “off the mark”. Of course we should celebrate diversity! Life is diverse, and one of my personal core values is to “celebrate life”. And since life didn’t “just happen”… and the One who gave us life and liberty at the same time, is the Lifegiver, Jesus Christ, I like to celebrate Him, too.
Diversity is an undeniable fact of life. Since God in His infinite wisdom and explosive creative power did not want automatons, or more angels, he made man in His image, male and female created He them (the man Adam and the woman, Eve). So gender came into being… perhaps the beginning of all diversity! God did not have to “dream up” gender for our pleasure and the means to populate the world, but he did. And diversity has been a challenge ever since. You can’t wish it away; diversity is here to stay. And diversity is good!
But let’s stay with Adam and Eve for a moment. What was God’s answer in the garden to diversity? Yes, you are right… unity. God created two diverse life forms that create a distinct new entity/unity when the two become one! Marriage is between a male and female; two become one, united together by the Son! God’s original “good news” mystery.
What a beautiful picture! Diversity is not an end or complete in itself. Diverse elements must exist together in life and fully blossom when included in the whole. Nowhere is this more eloquently or beautifully stated than inSt. Paul’s description of the Body of Christ in his first letter to the Corinthian church, likening it to the human body. (Turn to it now, Trekker, read all of Chapter 12.)
Just as “to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” in the Body of Christ (i.e. the unity of a “common good”) so is “the human body a unit, though it is made of many parts; and though all the parts are many, they form one body” (12:12). This brilliant human metaphor for the Body of Christ (the Church) is the prototype for every other unified, purposeful human creation or action. That is to say, every culture, every community, every nation, every home, i.e. where two or more people (who by definition are always diverse in some manner) come together, they do so because they are more as a whole than they can ever be alone! The unifying factor is surely the need for wholeness and completeness, which overrides the desire for separateness.
Unfortunately when Adam and Eve, united by God in the first garden wedding, got separated from God because they chose their own way, they started arguing, blaming each other for their loss of unity… and we have been doing it ever since! We must learn… God cannot be left out of the equation! He is the essential ingredient of all desirable relationships, the cornerstone of any human unifying building block. If we have problems in our world today, it starts with the admission, “we have left God out of the human/cultural equation.”
If we celebrate diversity to a fault (as I fear we are doing today in America), we conspicuously and may simultaneously devalue unity. Diversity is not, or should not be, an end in itself. Core values must be commonly believed, practiced and passed on for family, church or nation to long endure. E pluribus unum… “out of many (States), one”… is as true today as when it was adopted and placed upon the Great Seal of the United States.
“How do we get (back) there”, we say as we wring our hands, as we see so many national representations of unity slowly unravel? Good question! I believe only God can do certain things necessary if we are to live peacefully on planet earth. The first… “only God can change a heart” whereby a human being covets unity with his Maker and fellow man more than personal pride and being one’s own man! Remember, sin at its core is nothing more than choosing to stand alone and proudly saying, “I did it my way!”
Secondly… when diverse elements exist together on planet Earth, they can “celebrate diversity” in toto only when they are unified in their acceptance of God in Christ. And even then it is difficult. The visible Church on earth (with its many church splits) is not necessarily a sterling example to the rest of the world, no doubt you would agree.
However, if history teaches us anything, we have a fighting chance for coming together in unity in Christ. He is the Savior, the Redeemer, the Unifier. As Creator of man, He did it before sin entered the world, and He does it after sin entered. Yes, there is “no other name under heaven whereby man can be saved” from championing diversity so intensely he loses sight of the legitimate need for unity. Paul says it well to the Galatians, Chapter 3, “we are neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ.” But notice… only “in Christ!” Christ must be in the equation if unity is to prevail! Diversity in the end must be swallowed up in unity or diversity eventually destroys itself and ends all hope for equilibrium and balance and peace.
Whether our beloved country is a melting pot or a mixed salad or a giant kaleidoscope of various hues and colors, I don’t know. But I am certain of one thing. The Church invisible is, and the Church visible on earth at any one time ought to be. In the Church multi-lingual, multi-cultural, multi-national, we are all simply diverse sinners, offering each other the Bread of Life and union with Him.
As I draw this MEN to a close (and we begin our 9th year of writing MEN) the words of Paul to the Athenians come to my mind, spoken on the Areopagus, where I too have stood, imagining hearing Paul speak these words, “From one man (Adam) he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact place where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each of us. For in him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:26-28.
Yes, diverse we most certainly are, but destined to be one in Him alone, sons and daughters, a royal priesthood. Trekker, let’s inspire others to be united in Him! For sure, Jesus is the answer!
Your friend,
Jim Meredith
