By Dhimas Anugrah
Some time ago, a group of people who love land transportation tried an unusual trip. They boarded a regular bus operated by a bus company from North Sumatra. The route of this bus is unmitigated! From Medan to Jember, the distance is 2,839 kilometers and the duration of the trip is almost 5 days.
When their travel stories were uploaded to social media, mixed responses emerged. Some shook their heads, “It’s better to take the airplane! The price is slightly different, but it’s much faster!” Some were enthusiastic and wanted to try it too. However, there was one that caught my attention.
“If we compare that distance, it’s further than the distance from Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Moscow (Russia) which is 2,400 kilometers. There (Europe), you can already move between countries, here (Indonesia), you still have to stay in one country.”
That comment contains a fact. Indonesia is indeed vast. The Medan to Jember PP bus route only covers two main islands, while overall our country has five main islands, and various other islands that number up to 17 thousand! The vastness of Indonesia’s geography is also closely related to its ethnic and cultural diversity. Statistics show that there are more than 1,300 tribes and 700 languages spoken every day.
These numbers on the one hand seem fantastic and encouraging, that we are truly blessed with a vast and diverse country. But, on the other hand, my mind wanders. Behind the cradle of the greatness of Indonesia, will this myriad of differences continue to make us last as a nation until the future?
Indonesia as a unified de jure and de facto national entity only emerged in the 20th century, when the seeds of nationalism grew along with the political changes during the Dutch East Indies. In previous centuries, Indonesia’s diverse regions with their own languages and cultures were not united. History records that there was great fighting in the regions of the archipelago. For example, in 1404 there was the Paregreg War, a bloody conflict when Majapahit rulers in the west and east fought for hegemony. There was also the Geger Pacinan in 1740, when the Chinese were persecuted by the Dutch. Also in modern times, before the second millennium, we witnessed how conflicts such as in Maluku or Sampit destroyed the harmony of life.
Differences are beautiful, but in every age, we see that often in the name of “differences,” terrible conflicts occur. What about today? After these regions filled with differences have agreed to become one under the roof called Indonesia, will harmony be better maintained?
To answer that, I invite you to turn to the Bible.
God is pleased and gracious in differences
Differences in ethnicity, language, religion and race are actually realities that reflect the majesty of God. This is no mere coincidence, for when God created the world, He created everything good (Genesis 1:21,25). However, the fall of man into sin marred the good order and design that God had originally established. Because of sin, hatred, envy, jealousy, and other negative emotions arose in mankind against God.
John Piper’s exposition offers an interesting historical theological presentation. In the Old Testament we see how sin made people proud and against God. After the Flood, in Genesis 9:19, we read, “These were the three sons of Noah, and from them were scattered all the inhabitants of the earth.” In this verse, the term “inhabitants of the earth” is used. No nation or ethnicity has been identified. All the people of the earth came from the descendants of Noah. It is only later, at the end of Genesis 10, that the genealogy of his descendants is described and the term “nation” begins to appear. “These are all the families of the sons of Noah according to their descendants, according to their nations. From them were scattered the nations of the earth after the flood” (Genesis 10:32).
From the text, it is clear that the descendants of Noah’s sons produced different nations, but the nation here is not a political entity, but rather a unit consisting of family or ethnic ties that spread throughout the world. However, in Genesis 11, the story of the Tower of Babel surprisingly emerges, when people rebelled against God by building a tower that seemed to reach to heaven and in their own name. It is here that we see the direct cause of the linguistic diversity of the nations scattered in various places. The tower of Babel became man’s attempt to rebel against God, so God “confounded their language there, so that they could no longer understand each other’s language. So the LORD scattered them from there over the whole earth” (Genesis 11:7).
In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul provides a perspective on how we deal with diversity. When Paul confronted the lovers of wisdom in Athens, he said, “From one man he made all mankind to inhabit the face of the whole earth, and he appointed seasons for them and boundaries for their habitation, that they might seek God…” (Acts 17:26-27). Through his words, Paul confirmed to the discerning Athenians that it was God who created all mankind with its diverse ethnicities.
The perspective the Bible gives is a clear message that God accepts the diversity of nations and all are equal in His eyes. We should not attack others on the basis of their ethnicity, religion, language, or other differences. When we realize this reality, we can learn and grow as individuals who are part of society. As Christians, through interactions with people of different ethnicities and religions, we can broaden our horizons and understanding of the world around us, while being able to accept and humanize our fellow human beings who bear the image of God.
We are called to live peacefully in love
In the Old Testament, when the Jewish community lived in Babylon, among people who were not of the same tribe or religion as them, God commanded them to seek the welfare of the place where they lived and pray for the city or country to the Lord, for its welfare was their welfare too (Jeremiah 29:7).
Our great Master Jesus Christ said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). This is a message for Christians to bring love and peace to all mankind, especially in our neighborhoods.
As the world becomes increasingly self-centered, Christ’s command to “love your neighbor” is a strong message for Indonesian believers to spread love, not hate. Through tangible acts of love towards others, we can be a beautiful manifestation of Christ’s love for those with different religious beliefs and ethnicities from us. Also, in this way we can build better relationships and reduce tensions that may occur due to differences.
In a world that has fallen into sin, conflict or friction may occur. But we are invited to be steadfast in our call to love and peace, so that by faith we are able to pray and work so that the great roof that shelters thousands of islands and hundreds of ethnic groups together with Indonesia remains upright, not swaying with age.
Our Daily Bread Ministries in Indonesia is supported by the freewill offering of individuals in Indonesia, who through their gifts enable us to continue to bring the life-changing wisdom of the Bible to many here. We are not funded by any church or organisation.
