Australia Day posted by jwatson on Jan 26, 2009

I write this from a chair looking out into the mist surrounding the Sydney airport on a rainy day. Normally you could see the city scape in the background but today it is hidden in the mist. Yesterday was Australia Day (I know, my laptop date is one day off!). And it started as a brilliant day. By mid-day, there were heaps of people crowded into the public spaces around the water front of Sydney harbor. Many displaying the flag and celebrating their country.

Every time I spend time here I am taken by how well the Australians live together. There are people of nearly every race who call Australia home (it’s funny to see a Chinese face with an Australian accent!). Every stage performance that I saw included Aborigines, Australia’s truly native people. But race and color don’t seem to be a problem here. When I look around, I see good attempts at unity and it’s a delight to my eyes.

Unity is a difficult thing really. Perhaps impossible in it’s fullest sense (without Christ). We know that Christ has called us to unity within the Church. And He told us to live at peace with all men (as much as we are able).

My prayer for this Australia Day is that we, who are Christ’s followers, will long for unity. To be one in Him so that the world will know (John 17). One of the things I most love about EE is it’s unifying force as we all join together to do the work of the Gospel. Unity. May it be true in our lifetimes.