Tearing Down Walls

I came across an article in USA Today that I really enjoyed, describing the role that an evangelical Lutheran church played in the events leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall. I find it fascinating that in a time and place where individual rights and freedoms were stripped and God was considered not to exist, the church became the one place where people felt freedom - the freedom that comes in Christ - and where they experienced the hope and love of God in the community of other believers. One quote in particular gripped me: the church's pastor stated that "in church, people had learned to turn fear into courage, to overcome the fear and to hope, to have strength."

I think this is true for us today, and it is true for the church throughout history. We may not be facing the oppressive threats that those living in communist East Germany faced, but I think that each of us can acknowledge individual fears that we continually face in our lives. I believe that in many ways God uses the community of believers, the church, to give us strength to have courage and hope in His perfect will. As the reverend succinctly stated when asked why the church led the call for peace, "we did it because the church has to do it."

I encourage you to read the article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-11-05-church-berlin-wall_N.htm