Diversity
Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind;” and it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good (Gen 1:24-25).
God created every species to reproduce “after their kind.” It is noteworthy that a fundamental aspect of the theory of evolution is that species evolved, but to date there is not a single record of one species being able to mate with another species and bring forth offspring that can reproduce. You can mate a horse with a donkey and bring forth mules, but mules cannot reproduce. This is a law that God set in the genetic code of His creation in order to preserve the uniqueness of each creature.
The Lord so loves diversity that He made every leaf different. He made every tree and person different. Even when Jesus walked the earth, He never healed people the same way twice.
This also brings up an interesting question about whether God intended for there to be a mingling of the human races. It is important that the special gifts and characteristics which God imparted to races and cultures be preserved, so that they can make their contribution to the revelation of God. The mingling of races brings forth new revelations of His creativity within the bounds He has set.
If we have His heart for diversity and creativity, whenever we meet someone who is different from us, we will be open and expectant of learning something, not closed and fearful. One of the distinguishing characteristics between the “sheep and goats” is when the Lord came to them as a stranger, and the sheep took Him in (see Matt 25:32-36). The Greek word translated “stranger” is xenos (xen\’-os), which is literally a “foreigner or alien.”
The Lord often comes to us through those who are different from us. If we are not open to them, we will not be open to Him either. In Mark 16, we have the story of the two men on the road to Emmaus who could not recognize the Lord because it says that “He appeared in a different form to two of them” (see Mark 16:12). He obviously did this purposely so that they would recognize Him after the Spirit, and not just appearance. If we are a Baptist, He may come to us as a Pentecostal. If we are a Charismatic, He may come to us as a Baptist, etc. He is continually trying to break down the barriers of our religious racism.
Racism is born from the two great evils of pride and fear. It is an ultimate form of pride when we believe we are better than others because of our race. Religious racism is the belief that we are better than others because we are a part of a certain denomination or movement. As James 4:6 declares, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Such pride can be one of the most destructive forces in our lives. It will also turn us into one of those that the Lord referred to as “goats,” because we will refuse to open our hearts to those who are different from us. Racism can be rooted in either pride or fear, but both are evil, and both are contrary to the love of God that is the foundation of all truth.
- Pray for yourself and all that you know who are going through trying seasons that they will not faint in these days of adversity and endure difficult times for the end is joyful. Pray for the family, church and nation (John 16:33, Pro 24:10, Jer 12:5, Is 40:2631)
- Pray that nothing in your experience will hinder you from entering into the fullness of what God has purposed for you, for the body of Christ, the nation and continent this season (Isa 14:24-26, Pro 21:30,31)