Spring is blooming all over my yard. Dozens of daffodils are popping up on the hill, the quince bush is full of blossoms, and the pear trees are starting to bud. The diversity of the creative energy of God always amazes me. When he decided to make flowers, he didn’t make just one species. Our planet overflows with flowers in a splendid array of shapes, sizes, and colors.
God treasures diversity, not only in flowers, but also in the people who populate our world. Each one of us was made to reflect a tiny bit of the image of God.
Over seven billion people from thousands of ethnic groups live on earth. God is so much greater than we can imagine and so far beyond our ability to comprehend, it takes people of many different races and cultures to even begin to reflect a tiny smidgen of his image.
One of my faith goals is to treasure diversity as much as God does. I need to see the wonder and beauty in those who are different from me, appreciate diverse ethnic groups from around the world, and practice love and acceptance for all people everywhere. This is not a natural human response to those who look, sound, or act differently than us. We are sometimes fearful of people who have a different worldview than ours. This fear is amplified by news outlets seeking increased ratings, politicians manipulating voters to get elected, and thousands of posts each day on social media. Nonetheless, if I say that I'm a Christian, I need to have the attitude of Christ. The Son of God was sent into our messy, fearful world to show us how deep and wide and high God's love is for every single person he created and to teach us how to relate to one another in that love.
One of my faith goals is to treasure diversity as much as God does. I need to see the wonder and beauty in those who are different from me, appreciate diverse ethnic groups from around the world, and practice love and acceptance for all people everywhere. This is not a natural human response to those who look, sound, or act differently than us. We are sometimes fearful of people who have a different worldview than ours. This fear is amplified by news outlets seeking increased ratings, politicians manipulating voters to get elected, and thousands of posts each day on social media. Nonetheless, if I say that I'm a Christian, I need to have the attitude of Christ. The Son of God was sent into our messy, fearful world to show us how deep and wide and high God's love is for every single person he created and to teach us how to relate to one another in that love.
The creation story says that each day when God completed his creative work for that day, "God saw that it was good." (Genesis 1 NIV). I can see this goodness when I focus on the creative energy of God, meditate on the life of Jesus, and rely on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit within me. If I mindfully appreciate the blossoming spring flowers, I will clearly see the beauty all around me. And if I intentionally look for what is beautiful and good in all of the people God created, I will surely find it.
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