Kids Talk About God: Why Diversity?

Why did God make people different from each other?

Rich vs. poor. Israeli vs. Palestinian. Girls vs. boys. Wouldn't the world run much more easily if people were alike?

Wrong, says Michael, age 7. God made us different from one another so "He wouldn't be bored." Or, to put it another way, "God likes to see different faces," says Kallan, 7.

"The world would be so plain if everyone was the same," says Amanda, 10. In fact, "it would be a world full of mirrors," where "Mom might take home the wrong kid," say Mallory, 11, and Ashley, 6.

Being different from each other is "like our ID" so "we won't get lost," say Alex, 8, and Kristin, 6.

OK, so God spared moms the confusion of trying to distinguish between identical kids, except in the case of twins. But what if we all wanted to do the same kind of work? "We have to have people who want to do all sorts of things and work at different jobs," says Leslie, 12. "Little odd jobs are very important."

Does that include emptying the trash and making your bed? If everyone were the same, "everyone would have the same habits, and it'd be miserable," says Alex, 10.

Can you imagine a world where everyone was a newspaper columnist? There would be no editors! As someone once said, editors have the important job of separating the wheat from the chaff and making sure the chaff gets printed.

God wanted variety, says Nicole, 9, "because it is much more funner this way, and God knows that." God wanted "to show His ability to be creative" by "making every color," say Andy, 12, and Perry, 10.

Perry, do you know what's around the throne of God? Check out Revelation 4 and 5, where the Apostle John describes Jesus Christ in heaven with "a rainbow around the throne." The redeemed ones before the throne are "out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation."

God loves variety. In fact, his glory is so great he requires different expressions of praise. What kind of sound would an orchestra make if every member played a trumpet? To produce a beautiful, harmonious sound, individual orchestra members must unite their diverse talents and instruments under the direction of one skilled conductor.

Even though we are different, we can all be united if we follow the conductor. The love of God unites all Christians because it transcends national, cultural, economic and racial differences.

OK, so we're not united now. But we can be. How do we know? On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus prayed for the unity of future believers: "And the glory that You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in oneness, and that the world may know that you have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me" (John 17:22-23).

Why did God make us different? To unite us in a glorious symphony with His Son, who has always been in perfect harmony with His Father. For Jeremy, 11, God is the great conductor who "made us different so there would be different kinds of worship."

Let's pay attention to our conductor. God wants you to join in the heavenly rainbow.

Point to ponder: God makes us one in his Son. Scriptures to remember: "For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body ... For in fact the body is not one member but many" (I Corinthians 12:13a and 14).

Question to consider: Is there something I need to change in my attitude or actions to experience the reality of being a unique person in the body of Christ unified by God's Spirit?

Inspire your children by reading this column with them and visiting the Kids Talk About God website at www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org. Bible quotations are from the New King James Version.

COPYRIGHT 2004 CAREY KINSOLVING