Last week most of our attention was drawn to the United Nations (UNO’s) 72nd General Assembly (GA) session. Over a quarter century, I have been watching and listening to some of the world leaders’ speeches in the UNO’s annual GA session. As we know that in spite of yearly GA sessions, most of the countries are still in turmoil and are faced with the uncertainty of the future. Is it possible for the UNO, as a united body fulfills its purpose of maintaining international peace and security? Or, is it possible to achieve unity in diversity?
When we read the “Charter of the United Nations,” a common person will start to think as to why the UNO’s purposes as stated in the “Preamble” are not fully achieved yet? Why some countries are still faced with wars, refugees, terrorist, poverty, human trafficking, health crisis, and etc. In the Charter, the members stated that “we the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.” And for these ends “to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples (UNO’s Charter Preamble).”
In spite of the UNO’s determinations, we the Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennial generations are still witnessing wars, political turmoil, and the crisis in the world. Why is it so? In order to get the right answers, I had no other source than to refer the “Holy Bible.” In fact, there are a number of verses to quote but one verse, which made me first to think and meditate on it over two (2) decades ago on this topic, is from John 17:23. Jesus Christ prays for all His believers stating that “I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me (NIV).” Based on my experience and observations, “unity in diversity can only be achieved through His words. As apostle Paul stated that “for as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit (1 Cor. 12:11-13 NKV).”
I admire leaders who first provided this message to us. Please think about it!