'Above All Else, Love' / Neil Dawson

Grace Community Church NI

The events of Pentecost in the New Testament are often seen as a reversal of what happened at the Tower of Babel in the Old Testament. At Babel, people tried to build a tower to reach the heavens, opposing God’s desire to come down and fill the earth. As a consequence, God scattered them across the earth and confused their languages so they could no longer understand each other. In contrast, during Pentecost, God empowered the disciples to speak in different languages, allowing people from various nations to understand the message of the Gospel. In the book of Acts, the mandate given to the disciples was to go into all the earth and spread the good news. This aligns with God's original intention for people to fill the earth. However, unlike Babel, God did not unite the world under one language at Pentecost. Instead, He preserved diversity, making it possible for people to speak and understand languages that were not their own. This miraculous event showed that God values diversity and can use it to fulfill His purposes. Paul’s letter to the Romans highlights a similar theme. He was determined to see Jews and Gentiles united in their diversity. For Paul, the church was a place where different cultures and backgrounds could come together in unity, without losing their unique identities. This unity in diversity is a powerful witness to the world of God’s grace and love. To live this out today, we must let grace and humility lead us, rather than our own sense of superiority. Too often, people try to make their personal convictions universal, imposing their beliefs on others. But the Bible teaches us to above all else, put on love. Love leads us to respect and appreciate the diversity of others, creating a community where differences are not just tolerated but celebrated. This is how we can truly reflect the unity and diversity that God intended from the beginning.