The Problem with Sameness
We cannot arrive at justice in our country by advocating for sameness. Sameness means that we lack variety, uniformity, or monotony. In the New Testament, sameness is contrary to the nature of God. When you look at the Godhead, there is no sense of sameness. What we see in the Godhead is oneness, and oneness, by definition, is the state of standing unified. That is what the New Testament advocates.
We cannot arrive at justice in our country by advocating for sameness.
The Prayer for Oneness
Look at Jesus’ prayer recorded in John 17:
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you 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. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me (v. 20-23).
Jesus prayed that the New Testament church would be one. He never advised his church to be the same. He did, however, encourage them to be one.
The Need for Difference
The will of God is unity. We should honor what we have in common and use that as an opportunity to build one another up. In addition, we need to consider what we don’t have in common—that being the very definition of diversity.
Becoming one is an intentional appreciation of difference. We often refrain from looking at diversity so we don’t disrupt the status quo; but by ignoring our differences, we may miss out on the process of becoming one.
When we appreciate what is different, we are less likely to persuade one another to be the same. Sameness produces cliques and segregation, and elevates cancel culture. Each of us has five fingers, none of which are identical. God did not design our hands to have five fingers that are the same. Each one has a different function, but together they are one.
Becoming one is an intentional appreciation of difference.
Jesus tells us to model our lives after God. He created diversity, and it’s in our variety that we can learn from one another. As we learn from one another, we can model before a divided country the heart of God.
