Bound Together

"He recognized that the bond of love he knew there was worth more than any material wealth."

William J. Petersen and Randy Petersen

The One Year Book of Hymns

 

 

Every church fellowship has it's own customs and traditions in their worship service. In the church we settled in when we moved to PA, we sing the hymn "Blest Be the Tie That Binds" at the end of each worship service.

 

"Blest be the tie that binds

Our hearts in Christian love;

The fellowship with kindred minds

Is like to that above." 

I recently read about the author of that hymn, John Fawcett, 1740-1817, and the words brought new meaning to me.

 

"Orphaned when he was twelve, then forced to work fourteen hours a day in a sweatshop, John Fawcett learned to read by candlelight. He was converted at sixteen under the preaching of George Whitefield, and he was ordained a Baptist minister at the age of twenty-five. He began his ministry at a poor church in Wainsgate in northern England. The small congregation could only afford to pay him a minimal salary, partly in potatoes and wool.

 

"After seven years of ministry, Fawcett received a call to the prestigious Carter's Lane Church in London. But as he was saying his farewells and saw the tears on the faces of his people, he changed his mind and decided to stay.

 

"Not long afterward, he wrote this hymn for the congregation at Wainsgate. He recognized that the bond of love he knew there was worth more than any material wealth."

 

And isn't that how it is? The bond of fellowship Christians have serving together and to each other. I know of no other group or club who share a common bond so strong.

"The Christian life was not meant to live in solitude forever, nor is it suited to it. It is a social life. All its movements suggest and prophesy a brotherhood. That brotherhood of believers is the Christian church."

Philip Brookes (1835-1893)

It's always a thrill to see a large buck and get the snap too!

We need to remember that as we go through these difficult times. We are not alone. We have a bond of love that is strong and true, and it will help us through as we live our days.

"In God's family, there is to be one great body of people: servants. In fact, that's the way to the top in His Kingdom."

Charles R. Swindoll, (1934-  )

Charles Spurgeon said: "If you fellowship with other Christians you will stay wide awake, will be refreshed and encouraged, and will make faster progress along the road to heaven."

I am thankful for the Christian friends I've shared my life with. They have helped me by comforting me, encouraging me, inspiring me and working with me. They have shared wisdom and discernment and helped me make difficult decisions. They have worshiped and studied with me. They have truly been the arms and legs of my Savior. Thank you, dear friends.

I'm enjoying seeing these yellow flowers that I pass frequently.

In searching for "Blest Be the Tie That Binds" on the internet, I found a study online by Greg Allen, the pastor at Bethany Bible Church in Oregon, who chose this hymn in likeness with his study from Ephesians 6:21-22 and had shared these words: "Because of His love for us and our faith in that act of love, we are to be joined in a common bond of love and faith in the truth--not love without faith in the truth, nor faith in the truth without love, but with both love and faith in the truth joined together in a perfect union in Christ. . . . to be our beloved Savior's hands and feet and lips and heart-beat upon earth, to lovingly minister to one another's needs in the power of the Holy Spirit; to appreciate anew for one another's giftedness to the body as a whole; to yearn for one another's growth and edification--and all so that the world looks on and sees that we live such a unique life together that it can't help but ask for an explanation."

Yes, I'm blessed to be bound together with the fellowship of kindred minds. It is a bond of love unequaled in its honesty and pure in its love.