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!”
Revelation 7:9-10 (ESV)
Apparently, God loves the variety and diversity of His creation. So much so that, in Christ, He is creating and redeeming an innumerable medley of human beings from every nation (ethnicity, not country), tribe, people, and language.
The Apostle John is invited to “come up here” where God is, and to view human history from God’s heavenly point of view. And what does John see? He sees the ultimate fulfillment of the promise God made to Abraham, recorded for us in the twelfth chapter of Genesis: “… and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3b).
He also sees that Abraham’s promise is being fulfilled through the command of Jesus to “Go … and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19a).
You can be part of John’s vision when you pray for the Kingdom. Download the free Advancing the Kingdom prayer guide now.
The Struggle to Celebrate God’s Creative Diversity
John’s vision is clear, but in our churches, we often struggle to celebrate the variety and diversity of people that God has created and redeemed. It’s easy to mistake cultural uniformity for Christian unity.
One of the benefits of serving with a mission organization like ANM is the exposure it affords to meet, know, and worship with believers from a rich variety of cultures, nationalities, and languages. We have colleagues from India, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Egypt, the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, and Mexico among our office and field staff. Such diversity is surely a foretaste of John’s vision in Revelation.
Exposure to Native Missionaries Advances Spiritual Growth
ANM receives many of our native missionary partners when they visit the United States. It is a vital part of our staff development efforts to introduce our staff to as many of our native missionary partners as possible.
This spiritual and cultural development often occurs during our weekly chapel, where speakers are invited to share their reports and are prayed for. We want our staff to grow in their appreciation and prayer for native missionaries. We have been encouraged most recently by native missionaries from Bangladesh and Kazakhstan.
