Diversity

Greetings WAC Community,

“I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  John 17:20-21 NRSV

God creates diversity. No two things are the same. When God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven, all the different things work together in beautiful harmony. Every facet of creation is dependent on the whole. Therefore, when Christ prayed that “they (we) may all be one” he did not mean that they all become the same. He meant that they may all work together as one.

As we approach Tuesday’s election it is alarming that we have become so divided. We have made a mockery of democracy. We seem incapable of working together. The state of our nation is not united.

This election year has brought out the worst of our political structure. Campaigning has only exposed the mess that has existed for a long time. Democracy is a beautiful concept in which opposing views are openly discussed, argued and debated then negotiated until compromise and agreement is established. Everybody wins but no one may be fully satisfied. Democracy only works when there are at least two opposing parties willing to work together to establish the harmony that is democracy. It’s like a dance where one partner leads with the right foot and the other with left so that they move gracefully together as one. Call it a dance of conflict. It can be beautiful.

But our nation has become so polarized that, moving in opposite directions, we are growing more and more distant from each other. We’re not even on the same dance floor. We assume any opposition to our own truth is the enemy rather than a partner in conflict. We hope that we may all become one as long as the one is like us.

When Jesus prayed for unity he didn’t mean that everyone should eventually morph into exactly the same image of God. Diversity reveals the full spectrum of God’s creativity and should never be diminished.

The natural world gets it. The flower and the bee, though very different, work together. Without the bee’s pollination the flower can’t reproduce. Without the flower the bee can’t make honey on which it survives. They work together as one. Other fascinating examples of symbiosis abound. The fact is everything, including us, is dependent on diversity. We need each other and we need others to be different.

Only when we learn to honor and respect what is different about each other can creation begin to fulfill the will of the Creator. There are so many pieces to this puzzle and they must all fit comfortably together before they form one perfect picture. That picture will be the image of God.

Fear Not!   Be Bold!   Do justice!

Bob Miller

Board Member

P.S.  Your financial contributions are needed and appreciated.  To contribute, click here.  Or mail your contribution to WAC, PO Box 1473, Laramie, WY 82073.