Common Unity for a Progressive Community

The Philippines is an archipelago in the Southeast Asian regions, made up of over 7,000 islands, with a land area of approximately 300,000 square kilometers; divided into 3 major island groups: Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, composed of 18 political regions with more than 170 languages (8 major languages from north to south), and a population of more than 100 million Filipinos. Since the country’s early beginnings, one can vividly see traces of various influences including Malays, Spaniards, Americans, Japanese, Chinese, among others.

Talk about diversity, one may curiously ask: Is there a commonality among its many people given this diverse scenario? We have heard of the phrase “Unity in Diversity”. Unity is undeniably the main component for national progress. In a multi-cultural and diverse country such as ours, achieving unity towards progress requires that we know what is common to all of us. Being the only predominantly Christian nation in Asia, we adhere to Christian principles founded on the Holy Bible.

The Bible contains timeless truths that focus on Unity and Diversity. On Unity, Psalm 133:1 says; “How good and how pleasant it is, when brothers dwell together as one.” On Diversity, Romans 12:4 says; “We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions.” When we talk about inter-confessional faiths, this means that glorifying God which also manifests by serving our fellows in the development of the spiritual, physical, emotional, mental, social, and material aspects, for the common good of all, and for the glory of God; thus, righteousness will exalt the nation. Annually, the Philippine Bible Society would rally every Filipino community, and different pillars of society every last full week of January, declaring that the Scripture is the beacon light for this nation. Indeed, the Word of God is the basis for our commonality — in every community or barangay, what should be common in our varied mindsets is the concept of ‘unity’.

As each community, town, city, province, and each region functions well; we will achieve progress as a nation. Let us therefore celebrate together the National Bible Week (NBW-2017) on January 23 to 29, proclaiming that “The Bible is the Hope for the Community’s Progress.” (Philippine Bible Society)