“Multi-ethnic ministry flows from the gospel as we are first redeemed to God and then to one another. With the picture of Christ’s multi-ethnic bride in Revelation 5:9-10, the Lord stirs our affections in such a way that we desire to see shadows of that glorious day now.”

Observing young children play any sport with a ball is entertaining. Aside from the fact that their hand and feet coordination are still developing, they have little awareness of the other players around them.

When I watch my six-year-old niece play t-ball, I cringe every time I see two or more children sprint as fast as possible towards the ball. It’s only a matter a time before they converge. Holding their breath with tightened jaws, everyone in the audience waits in anxious anticipation while thinking, “This is going to hurt.”

In the same way, life seems like a series of convergences or catalytic events that the Lord uses to conform us more into the image of his Son. These life convergences are a peculiar mixture of pain and joy, suffering and celebration.

After all, as Jesus walked toward Jerusalem, he knew the greatest convergence the world would ever see was on the horizon. He willingly laid down his life that we may know him. And out of the greatest act of evil (pain and suffering) came the greatest good (joy and celebration). The cross of Jesus Christ is where God’s justice and mercy collide, changing the course of human history forever. This is the good news of the gospel: Jesus becomes sin for us, that we may receive his righteousness, thereby allowing us to know God.

The Gospel Proceeds Convergence

The gospel, in its nature, attracts an electric group of people because there are no ethnic, socioeconomic or political barriers of any kind. On the cuffs of Jesus’ ascension into heaven we see “devout men from every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5) dwelling in Jerusalem, awaiting the Holy Spirit.

The gospel redeems us vertically in our relationship with God and then horizontally in our relationship to one another.

In Ephesians 2:13 the gospel proceeds the convergence of two groups with a hostile history toward one another (the Jews and Gentiles). “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Subsequently, in verses 14-15 they become one under the banner of Christ’s finished work on the cross.

[Editor’s note: This article is incomplete. The source for this document was originally published on raanetwork.org – however, the original URL is no longer available.]