I was driving the other day when I noticed a man walking two dogs near my neighborhood. Now, these dogs were awkward looking to me. Both were tall and skinny, with a small head. Not very attractive in my opinion. As I was having this thought another more powerful thought entered my mind and I began to take a look around. It was then that I realized that our God is the creator of diversity. Yup, I believe He is!!! You may have known this already, but it was revelatory and exciting to me. I took the next moments of my drive to reflect on the vastness of God's creation and the beauty of His mind to express His love in variety. God's creation SCREAMS diversity!!!
I noticed the trees and how they appeared to cascade the roadway. I cannot tell you what type of trees they were but I will note that they were not all the same. Yet, they stood alongside each other without competing or trying to remove the other from its place. (We could learn from trees.) I thought about how God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis Chapter 1). The Word says He took nothing basically, something that appeared chaotic, empty, and dark and made something beautiful from it.
What was in God's mind came out in His words and what came forth were all kinds of animals, bodies of water, creatures to live in the waters, birds, creepy crawling things (I'm still curious as to why God created them), vegetation, seed-bearing plants, etc. And then He created the man and the woman. There was definitely difference in the things and people He made, yet they dwelled together in unity. There was no discord, no arguing, no territorial struggle. Just peace and harmony. There was absolute unity in diversity.
So, what happened to the tranquility and unity that God created? Look at Genesis, Chapter 3. There was someone trying to disrupt the harmony in the environment. The serpent saw a good thing happening in the garden. He saw the reciprocal love that God had for the man and woman. God was pleased with His creation and said that it was good. This atmosphere did not, however, make the serpent happy. He was not having this at all and wanted no parts of this unified life. Instead, he sought to destroy it. The bible says that the serpent was more cunning and crafty than any of the other creatures God had made. (Gen. 3:1) Adam (yes, Adam) and Eve were blindsided by the cunningness of the serpent. They did not realize what had hit them. The serpent started sowing his seeds of suggestion. (You must be careful who you talk and listen to. It could result in a deadly dialogue.) He just asked a question and then made a statement (a statement that contradicted what God said). Just like that another thought was introduced into the mind of Eve and ultimately Adam. The thought produced an action that violated God's word. The serpent played Eve and his plot navigated the destruction of the unity in the garden. Please read the story for yourself.
Note, what happened in the very beginning of time is still happening today. We know that there are those in life who do not want to see people get along. Those type of people thrive off of negativity and creating separation. They love discord and disunity. We must be on guard to keep peace with God by obeying His commands regardless of what another may say. Remember, the enemy wants nothing more than to destroy the fellowship we have with God and with one another. God created all things diverse, but there can be unity if we abide in Him.
Oh, those dogs were greyhounds. They were beautiful to their owner and they are beautiful to God. :)
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