s a child at the end of the Second World War, I grew up in a town in northern Norway located by the sea, which had as its main business the export of iron ore from northern Sweden. The town had a deep harbor, and ships came from all over the world. That’s how I first came to see the world as something more than my town of Narvik. That there were languages other than my own tongue—and my local dialect at that! I remember the amazement when I first saw a person with a skin color other than my own paleness. I turned and looked in wonder.

A similar scene, but in reverse, came to me years later when as a missionary in Ghana my friend and fellow minister, the late Pastor Agboka, took me on a walk to a village where, he told me, they had not seen a White man before. I remember the embarrassed giggle of the small children. They stood in groups of four or five, afraid to get too close. Safety was important. Eventually curiosity became stronger than fear, and they investigated the hair on my arms. We all have our own personal journeys of discovery.

And how quickly everything has changed! At a phenomenal speed the whole world has become a village. The boundaries of cultures, languages, traditions, and religions are being crossed everywhere. We have literally moved in on each other. Reflections on whether all this is good or bad may be a luxury; it is happening in any case. The more important question is: What does it do to us, and how do we relate to it?

The answer I have to find has to do with my being a believer, a follower of Christ.

Now, there are answers that can be given from the perspectives of commerce and trade, politics and control, development and human rights. And they leave much to be desired. Human rights are being abused. Graft and corruption are rampant. Poverty in parts of the developing world is endemic and getting worse. The industrialized nations, mainly in the Western world, have failed to be and to do what they owe to humanity in other parts of the world. Selfishness, greed, control, and domestic politics somehow have been more important and stand in the way of their behaving as nations of wealth and influence could and should.

But I must come back to my own self as a follower of Christ. How do I relate to the complex and finely woven tapestry of humanity that drapes my world? How do I relate to race and culture? to social status? to poverty and wealth? to differences, quite simply? Is diversity a threat to that which is best in life —are differences to be avoided and isolated? The questions are many, as are the opinions, but the truth as found in Christ is strong and inclusive. It must be sought and understood, for it has value and great beauty.

The world into which Christ stepped 2000 years ago was one in which the forces of evil seemed to hold sway. Humanity had gone wrong and was unable to correct its course. The New Testament, in both the sayings of Jesus and writings of the apostles, is highly conscious of the powers of evil and their destructive and debilitating effects on human life; on political, economic, social, institutional, and family structures. The only One who could discredit the forces of evil and correct the course of humanity was God Himself, in the person of Jesus Christ. The whole ministry of Jesus during His three and a half years revolved around combating and discrediting the forces of evil, and assuring His followers that these forces will be utterly destroyed. The cross itself symbolizes the discrediting of the forces of evil (John 16:11, 33; Eph. 6:12; Col. 2:15). Christ symbolizes the unmasking of the power of Satan.

So, as followers of Christ, we look to Him to discover the new values and directions for life that He gives. It is right that He should tell us how we should view each other and how we should relate to one another. He represents victory over everything that has gone wrong. By His death on the cross sin is conquered, the power of sin is broken, and creation is set free. Yes, He is the only one who can tell His children how they should live.

Humanity is meant to be one in Christ. Christ is the centerpiece. And the unity that binds His followers together has an enormous capacity for inclusiveness. The passages and concepts from the Word of God that point to this new reality are many. Classical among them is the thought that nationality, ethnic roots, social status, and “male or female" are of no consequence as we stand before God (Gal. 3:26-29); we are all swept up in Christ and made one (Eph. 4:5, 6). This is an unqualified assertion as to what happens to people who in faith have come to Jesus Christ.

The community that believers have together is described as a body, with Christ as the head (Eph. 4). As the victorious Christ is the head of the church, so the community shares in His victory over flawed structures and distorted and corrupted values. This makes the church a new society that is as different from the values of the world as Christ is different from the forces He conquered.

To be a member of the church takes primacy over any other allegiance. Believers are a part of Christ’s body before they are Africans, North and South Americans, Asians, Europeans, or anything else. To be an Adventist transcends all cultures, nationalities, and tribal identities. It is so because the church, the body of Christ, is the culture in which Christ is uniquely present in the world.

The truth is not complicated. It says to us: “In Christ we have become something we were not before. In Him we are all one!" Nationalities and tribes come after that, and they are never allowed to compromise our primary loyalty to Christ and His church. That is the unity we have. It is spiritual. To deny it, whether by word or deed, is disloyalty to Christ and, yes, apostasy.

The moment an individual becomes a believer, submits to the Lord, and becomes incorporated into His body—the family of the church—Christ lavishes on him or her the gift of the Holy Spirit. This gift is like a “deposit," a symbol of ownership, a sign of belonging. It is a promise “guarantee" that out of the Spirit’s presence in our shared lives unimaginable riches will come as our inheritance with Christ (2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13, 14).

The Oleguni Masai choir attend an evangelistic event in Kenya.

What makes us one? Scripture says: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Eph. 4:5)*. The one Holy Spirit given to us all. Our spiritual heritage and the basis of our doctrines are the same. The destiny toward which our spiritual journey is taking us is the same. And on arrival we shall share eternity as one united people of God. That, broadly speaking, is what makes us one spiritual family. And that is what matters.

This is not fiction. This is what Christ is all about. This is reality. Unity is part of this new reality (Eph. 4:1-5). Paul says that we must make every effort to keep this unity that we have in Christ. Unity, like everything else in relationships between people, is not good at taking care of itself. It has to be worked at. It has to be cared for as something of high value. The Lord counseled us through His servant:

“It is the purpose of God that His children shall blend in unity. Do they not expect to live together in the same heaven? Is Christ divided against Himself? . . . Union brings strength; disunion, weakness. United with one another, working together in harmony for the salvation of men, we shall indeed be ‘laborers together with God.’ Those who refuse to work in harmony greatly dishonor God. The enemy of souls delights to see them working at cross purposes with one another. Such ones need to cultivate brotherly love and tenderness of heart. If they could draw aside the curtain veiling the future and see the result of their disunion they would surely be led to repent" (Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 240).

As I ponder how I personally should “make every effort to keep the unity" that is ours in Christ (Eph. 4:3), the words “respect" and “acceptance" come immediately to mind. Also this: In the interest of what is good for the whole body of Christ, it is a wonderful thing to be willing to forego one’s rights rather than to claim and assert them. Paul tells us: “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you" (Rom. 15:7). But how did Christ accept me? He died for me while I was still a sinner (see Rom. 5:8) and full of risks. Amazingly, He has accepted me with all the flaws that are there—an unfinished product, but with potential in the right hands and under the right influence. This tells me that acceptance of a fellow human being as someone of high value is something that I should extend up front. And from there on life begins. That is how Christ has treated me.

In Paul’s reflections in 1 Corinthians 10:23-33, he closes with the thought that as he has tried to follow Christ’s example, we, as believers, would do well to act similarly. This teaches me to be “constructive" (verse 23) by allowing the good of the many to take the place of seeking my own. If this does not happen in a family, it becomes dysfunctional and a most unpleasant place where greed and self-interest reign. So it will in the church as Christ’s spiritual family.

If we focus on and identify differences only, as our eyes cross boundaries of cultures, ethnic groups, languages, and traditions, there probably will be more than we can grasp. Rather, we hold that differences in these respects are not hostile to the unity of the family of faith. They are the elements of richness, beauty, and diversity within the unity we have in Christ.

As Christ died and made a body of His children, we owe it to Him to live as one body, united in hope, faith, and mission.

“How good and pleasant it is when [believers] live together in unity! . . .

For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore" (Ps. 133).

* Bible references in this article are from the New International Version.

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Dr. Jan Paulsen is president of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church.