People of Every Nation, Tribe, and Language
After this 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, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Revelation 7:9, 10
Wow! Wasn’t Community Sunday great?! People have been telling me all week how wonderful it felt to experience such unity in our diversity. A big “Thank you!” to our Community Sunday team for so clearly demonstrating how we are all one in Jesus regardless of our nationality, language, or culture. In fact, I think our unity was strengthened by highlighting the diversity that the Lord has created among us.
Of course, we don’t have people from every nation, tribe, and language…yet! But there are many other nationalities, languages, and cultures living in our city and I know our Lord Jesus would love to see them represented in our fellowship. It's up to us to invite them.
Several people have commented on the dramatic contrast between what we experienced on Sunday and the turmoil, hostility, and division that’s happening in our country right now. It’s actually a good picture of one of the main reasons Jesus came to the earth. He came to replace our hostility with his kind of love and his kind of peace. And we’re seeing him do that right before our very eyes in our church. But it’s only because he died, rose again, ascended, and sent his Spirit to us that we can experience and delight in the unity we have.
The Scripture passage above says that one day great unity in the presence of great diversity will be world-wide because of the redeeming work of our Lord Jesus. What this means is that if you felt some delight last Sunday, some exhilaration, some joyful excitement about what we experienced, you were getting just a taste, just a shiver of what all of life will be like in the kingdom of heaven under the rule of Jesus.
Personally, I think every Sunday could be a little taste of heaven when we stay centered on Jesus.