A Tea Party of a different kind

The political, economic, and moral pillars of America are being shaken as none of us has ever witnessed. Over the past year, this has increasingly soured the mood of many Americans with the bitter taste of confusion, fear and anger. Many have lost confidence in our governmental officials to fix our nation’s problems, and opposition is mounting between Democrats and Republicans, between Progressives and Conservatives, and between the Obama Hope and Change crowd and The Tea Party Movement. Some observers are concerned that a gathering storm of anarchy is about to break loose upon the land.

I share many of their concerns. But I am more concerned about their troubled hearts.

Last Sunday, as I followed television coverage of the Congressional procedure of voting for President Obama’s initiative to reform our nation’s health care system, there were cutaways to the massive Tea Party protest against the measure. Sometimes the TV cameras caught moments of group prayer—by some but not all. I share a special affinity with those in the prayer groups.

More than “tea,” I care about three other words that begin with the letter “✝”: ✝rust, ✝ruth, and ✝ie (that binds). I guess it would be more accurate to say I’m a member of...

I also see the letter “✝” to be a cross, a symbol that practically everyone equates with Jesus Christ and Christianity.

That’s appropriate, because Trust, Truth, and the Tie That Binds are rooted in Jesus.

Trust
I endeavor to place my trust, completely and confidently, in God and in His Son who is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I have been gifted by the Spirit of God with faith to do so (Ephesians 2:8, 9).

Truth
I endeavor to abide in the truth of God’s Word, the Bible (John 17:17) and in Jesus, who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Truth, in both aspects, gives me hope that is grounded in the confidence and expectation in God’s goodness, God’s Word, and providential care, even in times of trials and tribulations (Romans 15:13).

Tie That Binds
Dr. John Fawcett, the pastor of a small church at Wainsgate, England in the 18th Century, wrote lyrics to a hymn that explains this “tie” more articulately than I ever could:

Blest Be The Tie That Binds

Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.

Before our Father’s throne
We pour our ardent prayers;
Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one
Our comforts and our cares.

We share each other’s woes,
Our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows
The sympathizing tear.

When we asunder part,
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart,
And hope to meet again.

This glorious hope revives
Our courage by the way;
While each in expectation lives,
And longs to see the day.

From sorrow, toil and pain,
And sin, we shall be free,
And perfect love and friendship reign
Through all eternity.

That “tie” of which Pastor John Fawcett wrote has many threads, among them:

1. God is our Father (Matthew 5:16) and we are His children (1 John 3:10).
   
   
2. The Spirit of Christ dwells within our hearts (Ephesians 3:16, 17).
   
   
3. We share Christ’s eternal life (1 John 5:11-13).
   
   
4. "We, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individual members one of another" (Romans 12:5).
   
   
5. God is shaking America and all the earth, but we are citizens of His everlasting kingdom, which cannot be shaken (Hebrews 12:25-29).
   
   
6. We are blessed with many spiritual gifts (Romans 12:6), of which the greatest is God’s love (1 John 4:7; 1 Corinthians 13).

When our hearts are whole and we walk in the Spirit and are filled by the Spirit, the gift of God’s love is poured out within hearts through His Spirit (Romans 5:5). “The fruit of the Spirit is love” (Galatians 5:22), and when love is manifested in and through us, we produce the fruit of love for God, for ourselves, and for others:

a. The fruit of joy is the loving heart’s strength in Christ.

b. The fruit of peace is the loving heart’s security in Christ.

c. The fruit of patience is the loving heart’s endurance in Christ.

e. The fruit of kindness is the loving heart’s conduct in Christ.

e. The fruit of goodness is the loving heart’s character in Christ.

f. The fruit of faithfulness is the loving heart’s confidence in Christ.

g. The fruit of gentleness is the loving heart’s humility in Christ.

h. The fruit of self-control is the loving heart’s victory in Christ.

i. In summary, the fruit of love is the loving heart’s freedom in Christ.

The three t’s—Trust, Truth, and Ties That Bind—are encapsulated in Faith, Hope and Love. And, in the words of the Apostle Paul: “But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

And God’s love can do something no government can do: change hearts.
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©Copyright AD2010 Frank Allnutt. All rights reserved. Content herein may be quoted, subject to the "fair use" doctrine of U.S. Copyright Law.

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