“All the nations You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, and shall glorify Your name.” (Psalm 86:9)
One concept that the coronavirus pandemic brought into view is the unity of the entire world: we were ALL in this together. “Pan” in Greek means “all”. The apostle Paul makes frequent use of this term in his letters, for example: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people.” (1 Timothy 2:1)
A pandemic is an epidemic affecting all nations. The Bible talks about all the nations quite a bit: there are at least 154 verses that mention something about “all the nations.” One of the most memorable examples is a beautiful promise from God in Genesis 18:18, “Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed.” Another important instance is God’s promise to bring glory through global turmoil described in Haggai 2:7, “And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts.” You see, God will be glorified, as He blesses all nations and even as He shakes all nations. In fact, He is glorified because He can and does shake every nation. They are all in His plan, together.
What do these verses about all nations say about you, personally? They describe your purpose in life. They remind you that each and every nation – individually and collectively – is to glorify God and to be blessed by Him. This means that each and every person – individually and collectively – is also to glorify God. What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever. We are all in this together: you are part of God’s pan-national purpose to glorify and enjoy Him, in the midst of this pandemic and beyond.
Today would be a great day to recognize how united we all are. The “united nations” is a term that has specific meaning in a political context, but it also represents a very biblical theme. Consider the uniting of the nations for the purpose of glorifying God in Revelation 15:4, “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship You, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” You see, we know God’s will for the united nations and every individual: Christ has been exalted “so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)
As we prepare to join with churches throughout all nations in worship this Sunday, let me encourage you to tell others about God’s call for unity. Inform friends and family members that God desires all nations to unite in glorifying Him – not just forever, but THIS SUNDAY. Invite others – people of different ethnicities (ethnos means nation in Greek) – to join the united nations in worship. God promises to bless all nations; He plans to carry out this global plan through His people: you. We are all in this together. We are designed to be together in everything: “If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as He chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.” (1 Corinthians 12:18-20)
