People are diverse: hair color, hair texture, eye color, shapes of the mouth, one ear is slightly higher than the other, one foot is bigger than the other, not to mention personalities, social scenes we involve ourselves, among a myriad of many other things which make us all different.
But much of the time, our diversity exists at the expense of unity
People long for unity. People long for acceptance. People long to love and be loved, real love.
We see a glimpse of this longing in the Olympics. One good friend connects the 2012 Summer Olympic opening with Revelation 7:
Pondering the desire in every single one of us to see “people of every kindred, tongue, and nation” come together as one.
This is what Revelation 7:9 says,
I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes,
The imagery is stunning. Breathtaking. Real.
Notice there is a crowd of people in which the number of those people cannot be counted! Did you get that? There are so many people present, you cannot count them all. But more importantly,
the people are clothed in white robes
It is possible the people will wear real white robes; I think, though, there is a more important role of these robes. White robes of righteousness because of the Lamb Who is Jesus.
The Prophet Isaiah speaks to this Lamb:
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. ~Isaiah 53:7
And Matthew 8:17 alludes to it: This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ‘He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.’ ~Matthew 8:17; See also Mark 15:28; Luke 22:37; John 12:38; Romans 10:16; Acts 8:32-33; 1 Peter 2:22, 24
The unity of this great, diverse innumerable people is Jesus
The great thing about Christianity is how diverse people are, yet they gather as one in unity around Jesus.
Continued…