Be still: Holy Spirit I welcome you into my heart right now. Thank you for this new day. Amen
Read: Revelation 7
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’ (v9–10)
Encounter: When I'm thinking about God's vision for what a united church and world would look like, I’m immediately reminded of these verses in Revelation 7.
A coming together of all people in worship to one God. Yet even in this heavenly vision of unity and oneness amongst God’s people, John is still able to identify and depict different languages and people groups, nations and tribes, implying that there will be beautiful diversity on display in heaven and a uniqueness and individuality to our praise and worship.
We can think that things like race or culture, language or dialect won't ‘be a thing’ once we cross over into eternity. However, from these verses we infer that they matter deeply to God. And anything that matters to God in heaven we should make a priority and pursue here on earth today.
Your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)
In Matthew 6, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray for the things of heaven to become a reality on earth. This is incredibly simple and yet insanely bold all at once. This means that the heavenly vision of unity is something that we, as God’s people, should be contending for in prayer and longing to see here on earth today.
Yet, given the division and conflict we see in the world around us, this seems near impossible to envision or believe for. But that’s where we need to remind ourselves that we serve the God of the impossible!
Apply: Where do you see division in your own life? What would it look like to contend for God’s vision of unity in those spaces? Whether that be on a micro or a macro scale.
Devote: Jesus, we pray that we would see kingdom unity break out across the earth –within the Church and beyond.