October 2010

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
1 Corinthians 13v1-3

I didn’t really expect to become a Bon Jovi fan. But I just heard their new song “What do you got?” on the radio and it struck a chord…if you’ll pardon the pun!
Have a listen now
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdficjxxCio&feature=related) otherwise this probably won’t make a huge amount of sense!
The opening lines of the chorus seem terribly familiar:

“What do you got, if you ain’t got love
Whatever you got, it just ain’t enough”

Ok it’s not quite as eloquent as 1 Corinthians 13 but it’s interesting that the writers of a seemingly secular song have realised the emptiness of a life without love.

As the song progressed it reminded me of some of the faith of the Chilean miners.

“Who do you hold, in the dark of night?
You wanna give up, but it’s worth the fight”

Their story has moved the world and their faith has provoked discussion in a variety of unexpected places. Today I saw an episode of ‘Loose Women’ where the miners faith inspired a conversation about faith and suffering. And what a powerful quote from freed miner Mario Sepulveda “I have been with God and I’ve been with the devil…I seized the hand of God.” We can’t fail to have been moved by the things God did in that place.

It’s easy to see the parallels in the miners’ experiences that mirror the eternal story. It’s easy to compare the mine with this world. We can easily compare the journey through the rock with the process of physical death. We can clearly see the visual comparison as the miners were hauled upwards on a journey to the light at the end of the tunnel, travelling upwards to be reunited with loved ones and brought into freedom. It’s a sermon illustration handed to us on a plate!

But there remains the challenge. Would you or I have been content to leave our friends, family or neighbours down in the mine? Could we have seen the rescue plan, jumped on board Phoenix rescue capsule and left our loved ones behind? Would we just have prayed that they would see Phoenix and get in it and left without saying a word? Wouldn’t we have told them there was something better to come? Wouldn’t we have shown them how to strap in to the rescue plan and allow the Rescuer to rescue them?

And again Bon Jovi have it summed up.

“Everybody needs just one, someone to tell them the truth
Maybe I’m a dreamer, but I still believe
I believe in hope, I believe the change can get us off our knees
If you ain’t got love, it’s all just keeping score
If you ain’t got love, what are we doing it for?”

It’s not just about words – it’s about love. Who will you love into the Rescuer’s rescue plan today?