Kizuna

Kizuna.

No, I didn’t sneeze. I used a Japanese word that roughly translated means “bond.”

For the past week, and for a week going forward, New Song Church has been hosting 20-something Japanese students. The theme of the visit has been Kizuna.

As I’ve gotten older and been able to travel, especially overseas, I’ve learned 2 things:

First – Flying over the North Pole is terrifying, not to mention disappointing, as, spoiler alert, you can’t see Santa Claus from 35,000 feet.

Second – There is an unspeakably strong bond, unity and family feel that Christians around the world experience with each other, even if they’ve never met before.

Kizuna, something that bridges cultural, ethnic, racial and language barriers.

• The bond is not a type of music.
• The bond is not a hairstyle.
• The bond is not a version of the Bible.
• The bond is not a moral code.
• The bond is not a special language we share.
• The bond is not a common enemy.
• The bond isn’t even the particular church we attend.

The bond that ties us together is Jesus.

I’ve said it before, and I mean it more than ever now… if you look at the pile of Christians who gather at New Song Church every Sunday morning at 9 (shameless plug?), the relationships they have, the way they care for each other and get along – outside of Jesus, it makes no sense. It’s like taking every ingredient you have in the cupboard, throwing it together, and the end result being a delicacy of Ratatouille proportions. That’s how God has chosen to work in His church…and what Heaven is going to look like.

Kizuna.