Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Racial and ethnic divisions have been around at least since the Tower of Babel, but God reversed that through His Son, as it says here, and through His Spirit, as described in Acts 2. Some kinds of division are necessary, as it says in Hebrews when speaking of the Word of God as the Sword of the Spirit. (Hebrews 4:12) However, God is generally much more interested in unity, as has come out several times recently. The devil is a divider, but God is a unifier! The devil wants us to focus on differences, but if our focus is on Christ, all those differences fade into insignificance. After all, Revelation makes it clear that heaven is populated with people “from every nation, tribe, people and language.” (Revelation 7:9) God gives us differences to enrich us, since no individual can have everything, but if our focus is on Christ, those differences don’t divide us at all. As this verse says, the blood of Christ washes away all the things that might separate us and brings us together in Him.

I have lost count of how many people of other nations I have felt deeply bonded to in Christ, even several with whom I had no common language. I remember one man from Taiwan who, when I saw him here I immediately knew he was my brother in Christ, even though he couldn’t speak English or Japanese and I couldn’t speak Mandarin, or any other language he might have known. I remember also two Russian brothers whom I ran into in Hong Kong who got very excited because I could say “thank you” in Russian, but I couldn’t say anything else! My wife, who has been to heaven and come back, says that there are no communication barriers there, and I have no trouble believing her. While I am here, I desire to be a unifier, sharing the grace of God with all, regardless of whatever differences might seem to get in the way. As the song says, “Though we are many, we are one body; we are one body in Christ.”

Father, thank You for this further reminder. You’ve been saying a lot about this recently! Help me be Your agent to draw people into the unity in Christ that You desire, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!