Sabbati-blog Day 23: The Cohesive Power of Love, Even in DC

God works in mysterious ways. The moment you think you have him figured out, he sends an experience that humbles and encourages you leaving you in awe.

A couple short months ago I was invited to join the Minnesota delegation to the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC. I was a late addition, invited to join the group because of the work I am doing on this discipleship curriculum.  In truth, I was just connected to the right people.  Apparently the group was centered around those who are training the next generation of Christian leaders. I guess in a way that’s me… at least I hope so.

I couldn’t escape a feeling of inadequacy when looking at the list of people from our state who would gather. Leaders of significant ministries, schools and businesses were coming… and then there was me. I figured God had me on this trip for a reason, and I would go in with an openness to his leading. Maybe some of their ministry mojo would rub off on me. At the very least it would be cool to be there.

When we gathered to introduce ourselves, I was amazed at the various gifts and talents God had placed in one room. Not just that, but stories of self-sacrifice for others came one after another as I got to know these people. I found myself trying to encourage everyone I met and was encouraged in the process. As we continued to get to know each other, a bond of love formed deep within the group. Jesus said that people would recognize who his followers were by how they loved each other. Even though we were all so different and many of us had never met before this trip, the love of Jesus was present and powerful.

I found it ironic that I had to travel to Washington DC, a city which seems to epitomize division and partisanship, to find the cohesive power of love. Not only did I find it in my group, but I found it when I saw Democratic and Republican congressmen and women who stood together on stage and humbly expressed love for one another in the name of Jesus. Once per week a relatively small group, one from the Senate and one from the House, puts politics aside to pray together. I saw it in their faces how much that meant to them. It shined like a bright light in the midst of a divisive darkness and it gave me hope.

I am left with this passage from Hebrews on my heart.

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:23-25 (ESV)