Let the Nations be Glad!

This is the title of a popular book by John Piper about the subject of Christian world mission. It is an excellent work and one I enjoyed reading very much. Consider the following quote, which I found to be the most profoundly beautiful and moving passage in the whole book (pg. 216).

"I infer from this that the beauty and power of praise that will come to the Lord from the diversity of the nations are greater than the beauty and power that would come to him if the chorus of the redeemed were culturally uniform. The reason for this can be seen in the analogy of a choir. More depth of beauty is felt from a choir that sings in parts than from a choir that only sings in unison. Unity in diversity is more beautiful and more powerful than the unity of uniformity. This carries over to the untold differences that exist between the peoples of the world. When their diversity unites in worship to God the beauty of their praise will echo the depth and greatness of God's beauty far more exceedingly than if the redeemed were only from a few different people groups."

This paragraph invokes in my mind more wonder about the majesty, artistry, and beauty of God than the whole rest of the book combined (that is not to say that the rest of the book is bad - it's excellent).