I can’t be the only one to have wondered whether the earth really needs both alligators as well as crocodiles, carnations along with peonies, dolphins in addition to porpoises. No question, God loves variety. His world is alive with diverse creations.

God wants His children to get along in spite of their many differences. He created those differences for His divine purpose. Today’s verse is part of a short Psalm that paints a vivid picture of how much God cherishes unity.

Spiritual unity comes from a mutual appreciation of God’s Lordship. Uniformity, on the other hand, judges how much the other is like oneself.

As a child, I admired someone and esteemed them so highly I sought to mimic them until God asked me what was happening to the unique individual He had created of me. I had to admit it was fading away.

Unity allows each person to bring something special to the table, in contrast to uniformity, which squeezes away variety in preference of cookie-cutter sameness.

Every human on earth is a Child of God. He longs for us to all work together toward His purposes, regardless of how different our ideas, histories, and experiences may be.

God wants us to embrace, not mask, differences in ourselves while accepting and celebrating them in others.