Do You Love Those Who Are Different Than You?

by Matt Ng | Jul 31, 2020

Every year in Osaka, Japan, the Number Nine Chorus performs Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Ode to Joy. The Number Nine Chorus is 10,000 people strong. To deem it impressive would be an understatement. I am no expert on choral music, but great choirs (and perhaps even smaller ones) demonstrate a beauty and timelessness that is rare today in music—the melodies and countermelodies, the intricately woven harmonies, the beautiful textures of voices. The best of choirs contains a multitude of voices, but they sing as one. Their voices meld into a sweetness that is pleasing to the listener.

And yet when we turn to the church, it so often lacks a beautifully unified voice singing praise to the glory of God the Father. But this has always been the intention for the church. Paul writes, “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Jesus Christ, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 15:5–6)…

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