1 Chronicles 1:8-16: in context

The Chronicler traces the descent of the nations from the sons of Noah. From Ham come Cush, Egypt, and Canaan; from them come the peoples of many lands, the Philistines, the Canaanite tribes, and others. It is a table of nations, showing how the many peoples of the earth, in all their diversity of land and language, branched out from a common origin, one human family spreading into many nations across the earth.

The genealogy of the nations quietly testifies to the unity of the human race. All the peoples listed, however different in land, language, and later in history, descend from a common origin, one family branching into many. Behind the diversity of nations lies a shared humanity; all people, whatever their nation or tongue, are part of one human family, springing from a common source. The many nations are not separate creations but branches of one tree, kindred in their common humanity. This is a truth worth holding in a world often divided along the lines of nation, ethnicity, and culture. We can regard other peoples as fundamentally other, alien, separate from us, so that the divisions between nations and cultures seem absolute. But Scripture testifies that all people share one origin, one humanity; that every nation and people is part of the one human family. From one man, Paul told the Athenians, God made every nation of the earth. The diversity of peoples is real, but it does not cancel the deeper unity: all are one in their common humanity, all descended from a common source, all bearing the image of God. This gives us a right regard for people of every nation and background. Because all people share one humanity, no people is fundamentally alien to us, none outside the human family, none beyond God's regard. The person of another nation, culture, or background is not other in the deepest sense but a fellow member of the one human family, a kindred bearer of God's image. This undercuts the divisions and hostilities that treat other peoples as fundamentally separate, and calls us to regard all people as kin in their shared humanity. And this unity finds its fullest expression in God's purpose to gather people from every nation. The table of nations, showing all peoples springing from one family, points forward to the gathering of a people from every nation into one, before God's throne. I saw a great multitude, John says, out of every nation and tribe and people and language, standing before the throne. God's purpose embraces the whole human family, gathering from every nation. This calls us to regard all people as one human family and to embrace God's purpose for every nation. The table of nations testifies that all peoples share one origin and one humanity; and we are called to regard people of every nation and background not as fundamentally alien but as kin in their common humanity, bearers of God's image like ourselves, and to embrace God's purpose to gather a people from every nation into one, before the throne of the God who made of one blood every nation of the earth.

Do I regard people of other nations, cultures, or backgrounds as fundamentally other and separate from me, so that the divisions between peoples seem absolute, and can the table of nations, showing all peoples springing from one human family, together with the truth that God made of one blood every nation and gathers a people from every nation before his throne, move me to regard all people as kin in their shared humanity, bearers of God's image like myself, and to embrace God's purpose for every nation?