God’s Creativity and our Uniformity (2)

God’s creative beauty displayed in His creation

God is a creative God. He doesn’t paint with one color. He uses vivid variation in the things that he creates. Genesis 1:1 says that in the beginning God created. As we read throughout Scripture, we often get picturesque details of the handiwork of God in creation. If we were simply to look around, we would observe God’s creative beauty.

the variety of landscapes on the earth

rugged mountains

lush valleys

arid deserts

plains

Animals of the earth and all of the ways that they go about and honor God in their own ways

the lumbering gait of hippos

graceful prance of gazelles and deer

the scurrying busyness of squirrels and other rodents

calm of cows and sheep

The majestic way that eagles soar

The head banging manner of wood peckers

Then, if we go into the sea - we get to see another whole world of diverse creation displaying God’s handywork. Most of that only he gets to see.

Great whales

ferocious sharks

Eels - that slither through the water

Glowing fish

Puffing fish

floating, stinging fish

God doesn’t stop there - when he created humans, while there are a lot of similarities in us - presence of eyes, ears, mouth, skin, hair — even in our DNA, we are more similar than we realize - there is a great deal of diversity among us, and that too is a testament to God’s creativity and beauty. When you look at the variation in our:

skin

color - from darkest brown to reddish to pale,

tone - freckled, rosy, smooth

function - and how our bodies work to process the environment around us differently. For example, after the flood, Noah’s family began to spread out all over the world. Our bodies eventually adapted to allow us to adjust to the environments in which we lived and the food which we ate.

Hair

color

texture

thickness

Eyes

shapes

sizes

colors - intricate variations, mixtures of colors,

bodies

height - tall, short, average (whatever that is)

shape - lean, muscular, portly

We could go on and on reflecting on the beauty of God’s creative diversity. But, one of the things that we have to recognize is that we tend to do things that revolve around us. We tend to worship our things and not God’s things which results in…

Our tendency toward uniformity

At the tower of Babel (Genesis 11), a lot of the people settled on the Plain of Shinar and sought to build a tower and a large city so that all of humanity might dwell together in opposition to the command that God gave the first humans - the fill the earth and subdue it (Gen. 1:28). When God confused their languages, they were forced to disperse. Some to the south into Africa. Some to the east toward Asia and the pacific islands. Some went to the north into Europe. Generally, we’ve done a good job subduing the earth. While there are places where we can improve, our stewardship of God’s creation has been okay.

The problem is that we have tended to try to subdue one another in order to make a name for ourselves rather than to proclaim God’s fame and renown. The wars that have plagued nearly every century since the beginning of time inflicted societies with pain in an effort to propagate a certain society and expand a kingdom’s reach. The age of exploration introduced the horrors of chattel slavery as people were ripped from families and homes and then sold as property in foreign lands and cultures. Some would say that even the missionary movement has done caused some harm along with the good as the gospel was shared along with certain societal norms. In our age of capitalistic expansion, many of the things that made our individual cultures different are being muted as clothes, cars, and conveniences make companies bigger and cultures similar. Sure, there are pockets where people still wear culturally identified clothing, but generally, the western standard of clothing is ubiquitous.

We might not be speaking the same language, yet, but we are all starting to dress the same way, eat the same foods, and drive the same cars as we worship our own achievements.

We really haven’t left Babel.

But there is hope, as the book of Revelation gives us a glimpse into…

God’s promise of diverse unity through the blood of the Lamb

As John is given a vision of things that have happened and of things to come, he observes a beautiful throne room. As I read this, I want you to close your eyes and picture what John sees. Picture the colors, the diversity, the creativity

Revelation 4:1–11 ESV

After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Can you see it? The colors, the beauty, the majesty?

In the next chapter, John sees a scroll in the hand of the one on the throne. It seems that no one is able to open the seals on that scroll - that is until he sees this:

Revelation 5:6–14 ESV

And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

Then the lamb begins to open the seals - unleashing different judgments and punishments on the Earth.

After 6 of the seals are opened, there is a stillness that covers over the face of the earth as God’s people are sealed in order to be protected from the coming judgments.

Then, John’s gaze looks back at the throne room. His vision expands a bit.

Revelation 7:9–17 ESV

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Notice that - people will be worshiping the Lamb and the one on the throne. John notes that they will all be dressed the same. They won’t be wearing Nike or Adidas or Kaite or Dissh or Asics or Levis or Carhardt. They’ll be wearing robes - white robes that have been washed in the blood of the lamb.

But they will come from all over the world.

From every nation - this is the Greek word ethne from which we get the word ethnicities. Nations may mark political boundaries. As if that’s not enough, this multitude will contain people from

every tribe - essentially a subgroup of a nation - larger than a clan or a family - but a collection of clans.

every people - this is yet another delineation of how we might differentiate people.

every language - now we get even more specific. Currently there are around 7100 languages in the world.

So imagine this - no language, tribe, people or nation will be excluded from this glorious worship service.

As for the songs they will sing - it won’t be Hillsong or Tomlin or Beyonce or Taylor Swift - they will sing a song of God’s salvation and they will sing it loudly “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” I imagine this would be sung in every language and yet able to be understood by God.

Their worship of God will inspire the angels and the elders and the creatures around the throne to worship with their own song.

Now, I know, you may be thinking - “but this looks like uniformity to me.” They are all wearing the same clothes and singing the same song - just like we do today. The difference is the reason. They didn’t wear those clothes because they were cool - they wore those clothes because they had been saved.

Closing thoughts:

Now, I know, you may be thinking - “but this looks like uniformity to me.” They are all wearing the same clothes and singing the same song - just like we do today. The difference is the reason. They didn’t wear those clothes because they were cool - they wore those clothes because they had been saved. They didn’t sing that song because it was the latest hit, they sang it in grateful worship.

For so many of us, our natural tendency is to draw attention to ourselves or to fit in with everyone else in order to keep from drawing attention to ourselves. We want to follow trends and imitate influencers and as a result often end up looking like one another in a sort of self-worship.

What should we do with all of this?

Praise God because of His creative diversity

rejoice in the ways that God has made us different - our languages, our cultures, our foods,

Proclaim God’s salvation through Jesus Christ

- he is the unifier to our diversity -

Prepare yourself for that future

- be washed in the blood of the lamb