Psalm 19:1-4 (NLT)
The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.
God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
As many of you know, I grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas. Although I didn't realize it as a kid, my neighborhood was diverse. We had white people and black people, Mexicans and Chinese, wealthy and poor, pastors and road pavers, forklift drivers and a lawyer, food service employees and a computer salesman. Some worshiped at the Church of Christ, Baptist, Methodist, and Catholic churches. Some didn't attend church anywhere. One was an atheist (although he shouted the name of GOD a lot). There were groups who played the sport of the season, a couple were bull riders, some raced the super cross series on motorcycles, others of us rode our BMX bikes all over the area, girls flirted with the boys as they braided one anothers’ hair or yapped on the first cordless phones. On any given day, Tejano music mingled with hip hop. Country merged with rock. Smells of tortillas, barbecue ribs, hamburgers, and fried rice wafted up and down the streets.
In those days, it was just the neighborhood. Today, we call it cultural diversity. And it’s a beautiful thing. A GOD thing.
We glorify and reflect a very diverse and creative GOD. (This, of course, is putting it mildly. But you get the idea.) As a part of the neighborhood, we celebrated our differences. Everyone invited everyone else into their lives. We spent massive amounts of time together. We rode bicycles together, attended each others games, cried with each other through deaths and tragedy and rejoiced with one another over cancer-free reports and babies. We experimented with one anothers' recipes (sometimes with disastrous consequences).
As part of the body of Christ, we are created very differently. On purpose. Like the stars. To show off the glory off God. To reflect his creative, artistic style. We should praise Him for that! Appreciate that! Take time every day to consider it! And most importantly, consider him!
Author’s Note: for more on this topic, read pages 27-28 of Crazy Love by Francis Chan and Danae Yankoski
