The Beauty of Unity - WE LIVE IN YOU

One of the most beautiful God-mysteries is the interwoven life of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit—The Holy Trinity.  This is the only perfectly functional family!   They live in a continual outpouring of mutual love, trust, honor and friendship.  They support one another and defer to one another. 

Another amazing mystery that mirrors the Trinity is the connectedness of the entire Body of Christ, the church.  We belong to one another.  We participate in the one life of Christ together.  We are not complete without one another.  We grow and mature as we connect to the mystically joined network of believers around us.  God made us to be social-spiritual beings. 

And we are so enriched by connecting to our worldwide family!  Around 3 years ago I wrote the song, We Live in You, which is about our unity with God and one another.  The song had an African feel to it.  As I imagined arranging this song, I heard African drums in my head.  I don’t know many folks in Vancouver that play African drums, so I never played the song! 

Years later, I heard an interview with Edgar King, a Vineyard pastor from Kenya.  Edgar has been a worship leader for many years, beginning as a youth in the Vineyard church pastored by his father.  I asked Edgar to sing on We Live in You and invite some of his team members. Edgar invited Joan Nzuki and George Ochieng’ Oula to sing on the track.  They sound great! 

Edgar is fluent in both English and Swahili, so we recorded the song using both languages.  This bi-lingual song reflects the worship style in Edgar’s multi-ethnic church.  Their congregation is quite diverse, so they sing songs in various languages to make everyone feel welcome and connected. 

This reminds me of my many visits to Latin America, where I have enjoyed singing in Spanish.  I have learned so much from my Latino brothers and sisters.  I have shared my experiences of worship in those countries, but it’s always a mutual give-and-take situation.  My life of worship has been deeply enriched by hanging out with my Latino spiritual family. 

When we venture out beyond our own native culture and share life with people of different nations, we see life, God and ourselves with new eyes. 

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