No matter where you look, diversity is all around us. Countless variations in physical appearance, both obvious and barely noticeable, between human, animal, and plant life surround us. Beyond surface appearances, we encounter differences within our families, friendships, and the wider community, both big and small in terms of personality, culture, experience, and perspective.

Diversity remains a constant even as we each tend to operate more out of a sense of uniformity. We assume everyone sees and engages the world the way we do. We presume “like breeds like” rather than recognizing distinctions between individuals and within groups. We gravitate towards those we perceive as like us even as we shy away from those we sense are not.

Despite these inclinations, diversity is inherent to our existence because diversification is one of the cornerstones of God’s creation of all life. The divine spark that inaugurates life’s beginning involves distinguishing between light and darkness. Creation continues to evolve through the differentiation of the land, sea, and sky, the proliferation of innumerable varieties of seeds, plants, and trees, and such a broad array of animals that we continue to discover new species to this day.

However, the culmination of life’s diversity is found in the origins of our humanity. While we are fashioned in the image of our Creator, that divine image bears two distinct yet interrelated reflections—that of male and female. The picture of what it means to be human is an image of mutuality and interdependence rather than isolation and separation. The relational nature of all life, our capacity for self-awareness, and the key to well-being derives from the differentiation within the created order.

The acceptance and the promotion of continued and expanding diversity are spelled out in the first divine command given to humanity. God’s instruction is to be fruitful, increase in number, and fill the earth with a balance of curious exploration and faithful stewardship. This is nothing less than a call to spread and create cultures borne out of different conditions and circumstances. Fostering diversity is then our means of celebrating creation and thus glorifying God.

It is only when we deny our need for each other and assert we can go it alone that diversity is perceived as a curse rather than a blessing. Convincing ourselves that our way is the only way, the right way, we mistakenly believe security is to be found in conformity. Therefore, we view dissimilarity as a threat. The differences between us become a source of competition rather than a means of complementing each other. Rivalry overtakes cooperation. Condemnation replaces curiosity. In the conflicts and troubles that ensue from these postures, we look for someone to blame instead of acknowledging our responsibility to care for and protect each other. We act out of fear, avoidance, and self-justification instead of acknowledging our shared brokenness and imperfections.

Thankfully our Creator remains unrelentingly committed to promoting diversity even when we do not. God goes so far as to come down to us in the person of Jesus Christ to reconcile the differences between us, not to eliminate them. Jesus tears down the walls of hostility that divide us, revealing through his work on the Cross that we are equal in our need for grace and God's giving of it. While our Creator embodies our humanity in the particularity of a Jewish man, it is made clear the love out of which God offers us new life through Resurrection is not for any one gender, ethnicity, or nation but “for all the world” (John 3:16).

This redemptive equality does not propose eliminating the distinctions between us. Those who follow Jesus form a body—the Body of Christ, “which is made up of many parts” (1 Corinthians 12:12). This redemptive equality establishes the basis of our unity amid all our continuing diversity—the unity of God’s Spirit in us. The prophets foretold the gift of God’s Spirit would come “on all the people”—both “sons and daughters,” “young and old” (Joel 2:28-29).

On Pentecost, when that moment arrives, the Holy Spirit is imparted to people of various tribes and nations, all of whom can hear and receive the Gospel in their own language. The greater miracle of this experience, however, rests in each person’s empowerment, through the gift of God’s Spirit, not only to recognize the good news in their native tongue but also to be able to understand each other. This captivating scene is a beautiful endorsement of the oneness we can share even as we are all not the same as we walk together by faith.

We worship a God who does more than tolerate diversity but actually celebrates it—fostering an expanding prism of colors, shades, and nuances in expressing our common humanity. Therefore, we can, and must coexist despite our divergences in perspectives and practices. Seeking to become a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community reflects our witness to the God who is “in Christ reconciling the world to himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). As we make room for each other, we will experience a foretaste of the divine, future vision when all things in creation are finally made new, that of "a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language" (Revelation 7:9) standing before the throne of God singing joyously together.

No matter where you look, diversity is all around us. Countless variations in physical appearance, both obvious and barely noticeable, between human, animal, and plant life surround us. Beyond surface appearances, we encounter differences within our families, friendships, and the wider community, both big and small in terms of personality, culture, experience, and perspective.

Diversity remains a constant even as we each tend to operate more out of a sense of uniformity. We assume everyone sees and engages the world the way we do. We presume “like breeds like” rather than recognizing distinctions between individuals and within groups. We gravitate towards those we perceive as like us even as we shy away from those we sense are not.

Despite these inclinations, diversity is inherent to our existence because diversification is one of the cornerstones of God’s creation of all life. The divine spark that inaugurates life’s beginning involves distinguishing between light and darkness. Creation continues to evolve through the differentiation of the land, sea, and sky, the proliferation of innumerable varieties of seeds, plants, and trees, and such a broad array of animals that we continue to discover new species to this day.

However, the culmination of life’s diversity is found in the origins of our humanity. While we are fashioned in the image of our Creator, that divine image bears two distinct yet interrelated reflections—that of male and female. The picture of what it means to be human is an image of mutuality and interdependence rather than isolation and separation. The relational nature of all life, our capacity for self-awareness, and the key to well-being derives from the differentiation within the created order.

The acceptance and the promotion of continued and expanding diversity are spelled out in the first divine command given to humanity. God’s instruction is to be fruitful, increase in number, and fill the earth with a balance of curious exploration and faithful stewardship. This is nothing less than a call to spread and create cultures borne out of different conditions and circumstances. Fostering diversity is then our means of celebrating creation and thus glorifying God.

It is only when we deny our need for each other and assert we can go it alone that diversity is perceived as a curse rather than a blessing. Convincing ourselves that our way is the only way, the right way, we mistakenly believe security is to be found in conformity. Therefore, we view dissimilarity as a threat. The differences between us become a source of competition rather than a means of complementing each other. Rivalry overtakes cooperation. Condemnation replaces curiosity. In the conflicts and troubles that ensue from these postures, we look for someone to blame instead of acknowledging our responsibility to care for and protect each other. We act out of fear, avoidance, and self-justification instead of acknowledging our shared brokenness and imperfections.

Thankfully our Creator remains unrelentingly committed to promoting diversity even when we do not. God goes so far as to come down to us in the person of Jesus Christ to reconcile the differences between us, not to eliminate them. Jesus tears down the walls of hostility that divide us, revealing through his work on the Cross that we are equal in our need for grace and God's giving of it. While our Creator embodies our humanity in the particularity of a Jewish man, it is made clear the love out of which God offers us new life through Resurrection is not for any one gender, ethnicity, or nation but “for all the world” (John 3:16).

This redemptive equality does not propose eliminating the distinctions between us. Those who follow Jesus form a body—the Body of Christ, “which is made up of many parts” (1 Corinthians 12:12). This redemptive equality establishes the basis of our unity amid all our continuing diversity—the unity of God’s Spirit in us. The prophets foretold the gift of God’s Spirit would come “on all the people”—both “sons and daughters,” “young and old” (Joel 2:28-29).

On Pentecost, when that moment arrives, the Holy Spirit is imparted to people of various tribes and nations, all of whom can hear and receive the Gospel in their own language. The greater miracle of this experience, however, rests in each person’s empowerment, through the gift of God’s Spirit, not only to recognize the good news in their native tongue but also to be able to understand each other. This captivating scene is a beautiful endorsement of the oneness we can share even as we are all not the same as we walk together by faith.

We worship a God who does more than tolerate diversity but actually celebrates it—fostering an expanding prism of colors, shades, and nuances in expressing our common humanity. Therefore, we can, and must coexist despite our divergences in perspectives and practices. Seeking to become a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community reflects our witness to the God who is “in Christ reconciling the world to himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). As we make room for each other, we will experience a foretaste of the divine, future vision when all things in creation are finally made new, that of "a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language" (Revelation 7:9) standing before the throne of God singing joyously together.