4.11.2008 (written 4.9)

Hello friends-

A lot has been going on between now and the last email requesting prayer as I try to balance my various responsibilities. More and more I’m reminded of the fact that God is in control, and everything will be all right. These kinds of reminders are good for all of us, as are moments of craziness- I really do believe they stretch and grow each of us. Hope you’re also learning a lot in your own life!

A few days ago when I went to walk somewhere, I decided to take with me a freebie-MP3 player that I got a few years ago. On it I found a song that I hadn’t heard in a long time called, “Solidarity,” by Five Iron Frenzy. It’s a very uplifting song both in beat and in lyric. I thought I might share some of it with you this week:

To the brothers and the sisters; to all of the resistors;
all the workers broke and crying on the road that leads to Zion,
the mountain we will all climb-
All of God’s children in God’s own time.
Solidarity (x3)- United we can never fall
Let one voice ring throughout the world
Let truth be told
Let us lay our own lives down,
A greater love was never known.

I’d been thinking recently about how as Christians we can be a severely divided group of people. Sure enough, all of us have probably encountered some situation in which Christians have argued with one another: between the Catholic and Protestant churches, or between denominations, or even between people in the same church building. To be sure, sometimes there are reasons to be divided; differences in church doctrine or major points in theology. Other times the reasons to be divided are nonsensical – and I’ve been at fault for such things. In hearing this song again and pondering all these things, I have to ask my question: am I seeking solidarity?
Although superficially this song would seem idealistic, it calls back to Scripture. Truly! Jesus says in John 13:34-35, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Ephesians also speaks into this idea of being united, when Paul writes about Christ redeeming both Jews and Gentiles – peoples who previously hated one another – and saying they are not two nations, but one nation united in Christ. When we don’t love one another, we act as the world expects people to act. But when we lay down our lives for others we display the love Christ had for us, “Great love has no one than this, that he may lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” (John 15:13,14)

How do you love like that? How can I love like that? It seems ridiculously simple to be told to love others, and I realize the difficulties (boy do I). However, if Christ is our strength and Christ has put in us the Holy Spirit… can’t we also ask how we can love like that and expect to be shown the way? This is my prayer for me, for all of us… That we can learn to love one another despite our differences or sharp disagreements. I pray that we can be people of truth and honesty, united and really standing as one body that doesn’t distort Christ’s love by our fragmentation.

In love and in Him,
Your sister
Yvonne