Thursday, November 1, 2007

I Want to Be One of Them

I cried most of the way to work today. That’s because I had my iPod set on “repeat one,” playing Sara Groves’ new song “When the Saints.” Burkinator’s Undercover Writer blog pointed out yesterday that for a limited time this song is available for free at the iTunes store. You should go get it. Now.

The song gives examples of God’s people working for freedom, caring for the dying and taking the love of Christ even to those who would kill them. The chorus starts by giving a hint of what’s to come, recalling Paul and Silas singing in the Philippian jail. The next time around, it adds Moses calling for freedom in Pharaoh’s court.

Finally, the song erupts in a torrent of images (at times it’s hard to figure where in the world Sara takes a breath): the underground railroad, the families of martyred missionaries returning to the people who killed their loved ones, the Sisters caring for the dying in Calcutta, a passionate man breaking down a brothel door to rescue those inside, Jesus bearing the weight of the world for us. Sara sings, “When the saints go marching in I want to be one of them.”

I do, too. In my travel for my job, I’ve seen my Christian brothers and sisters living this kind of selfless love for the sake of Christ. They put me to shame—and they also inspire me. I’ve also seen reports of enemies of Christ saying, “Christianity is a very gentle religion, so it ought to be easy to destroy.” Think again—that gentleness is more powerful than you can imagine. That love—the love behind all the compelling images in Sara’s new song—can never be defeated.

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