Insightful Statement: Unity and Uniformity

Some of the best insights I have ever said were not planned or thought of prior to them coming out of my mouth. I only say this because I comprehend my own lack of genuine profoundness. Each statement that I have made, that I thought was insightful, ended up being written, said, or expressed visually more times than I dare to find out.

When I think of these short, quippy, and timely statements I am thankful that they actually made a difference in someone’s life - possibly true but not a definite. Here’s the first of many examples:

“Unity does not mean uniformity.”

Over the past couple of years the conversation about unity, diversity, and race have been the topics of conversation at almost every dinner table my wife and I have sat at. It is interesting that it consistently comes up, and I’m pretty sure the reason is that no one has a perfect answer for how bring perfect unity in a local Christian church with a diverse and multi-racial world. 

I know of at least one person who beat to the punch when concerning unity and uniformity. Professor David Reimer said this statement in a brilliantly written paper about unity in the Old Testament. As I was researching for my sermon on Pslam 133, I came across his statement and immediately had the twisted reaction: I got excited.

I thought that something I said was pretty smart, true, and maybe even insightful, but I now see what my reaction says about my heart. 

The point is that I was being insanely arrogant.

I should have been humbled.

What I said was not unique, clever, or a genuine moment of deep profound thought. What I said was true and I firmly believe that there was insight involved, but I now believe that the piece of insight was not given by me to others but from God to me and others.

God reveled something truly freeing to me, and it is that to be a unified Church we do not need to be uniformed. God created us to be diverse. He created us to give a small reflection of the diversity that we find in the Triune God. The Trinity is unified and diverse but not uniformed.

Throughout the writing of this post, I sincerely desired to write about ten different topics in which I would give another insightful word to you. Instead of swelling up in my own arrogance and pride, I will give thanks to God for being full of wisdom, beauty, unity, diversity, and majesty.

God is good and gracious.

Jacob Luis Gonzales