Yesterday, I asked a colleague what his first thought was when I mentioned the word “unity.” He did not hesitate, saying with the smile only a forty-year experience can comprehend, “Marriage, of course!”
Once a week in this blog, we will look at the lyrics of Christian music to underscore (that is a pun if you think about it) how the music of the faith is brimming with the common DNA of a unified Christianity. From centuries-old hymns to modern rock, music triggers the desires of our hearts.
Look at “The Church’s One Foundation” written in the middle of the nineteenth century by Samuel Stone and Samuel Wesley. Does this suggest elements of our common DNA?
“The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord;
She is his new creation, by water and the word.
From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride;
With his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.”
This verse alone suggests Jesus, baptism, and the Bible as common DNA, as well as a unified church, a single body, as his bride. I don’t know what could be more powerful in its poetic simplicity. My friend was certainly correct about marriage as an example of unity.
But there is more. Listen to the entire hymn and read the words of all verses. What other elements of unity does it suggest?
Share your thoughts here with your brothers and sisters.
Once a week in this blog, we will look at the lyrics of Christian music to underscore (that is a pun if you think about it) how the music of the faith is brimming with the common DNA of a unified Christianity. From centuries-old hymns to modern rock, music triggers the desires of our hearts.
Look at “The Church’s One Foundation” written in the middle of the nineteenth century by Samuel Stone and Samuel Wesley. Does this suggest elements of our common DNA?
“The Church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord;
She is his new creation, by water and the word.
From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride;
With his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.”
This verse alone suggests Jesus, baptism, and the Bible as common DNA, as well as a unified church, a single body, as his bride. I don’t know what could be more powerful in its poetic simplicity. My friend was certainly correct about marriage as an example of unity.
But there is more. Listen to the entire hymn and read the words of all verses. What other elements of unity does it suggest?
Share your thoughts here with your brothers and sisters.
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