Uncomfortable S2 - Day 19

in the book of Revelation we see a temple scene that holds a great multitude of people who are praising God forever, singing the same refrain over and over. This multitude is said to come from every tongue and nation, which means from every ethnicity, every country, and even every language group. This vast gathering is the culmination of the eschatology and a scene from heaven.

But what it does not show is division, rather diversity and unity. It is from this great multitude that the choir of heaven is raised. How can we be set on division when it is so clear that the scene we see in heaven is anything but divided? The unity that is shown in this text is beautiful, harmonious, and other-worldly.

I grieve, like most do, when I see the division that we have in the world. As I am writing this, there is a war raging in Israel. This is a war that has raged for thousands of years, but particularly since 1948 and the establishment of the Nation-State of Israel, a place for the Jews to call home. The history of the region is a deeply painful history of skirmishes, human rights violations, apartheid-style division, and terrorism. Having spent many years living part of the year there, I had friends on both sides of the conflict, both were taught to hate the other, and both expressed their hatred in violence.

I am not condoning either side, and I want to recognize that terrorism must be condemned at every turn. Israel must live amongst enemies and must protect itself, and governance in this situation is complicated at best.

What I am saying is that division has no place in the kingdom of God, and if we are to be a people of the kingdom, we must work toward being the kind of people that convene and unite, rather than the kind of people that divide.

JOURNAL

1. In your personal life, do you find yourself creating more unity or division? 
2. Why do you think that is? 
3. How can you make sure you are someone who brings more peace into the world? What does that look like on a daily basis?