Brotherhood

America the Beautiful 

by Katherine Lee Bates

O beautiful for spacious skies, 
For amber waves of grain, 
For purple mountain majesties 
Above the fruited plain! 
America! America! 
God shed his grace on thee 
And crown thy good with brotherhood 
From sea to shining sea!

This morning as our praise team was rehearsing this song, I was struck first of all with how it was a prayer issued from Katherine Lee Bates' heart.  And as we sing this song across our churches today, may it be a prayer from our own hearts.

The second thing that struck me was that she asked God to crown everything He created with brotherhood.  That was also the last prayer of Jesus,  "May they be one as we are one."  Brotherhood.  Dictionary.com says this about brotherhood:
1. the condition or quality of being a brother or brothers.
2. the quality of being brotherly; fellowship.

The issue breaking my heart in these days isn't necessarily the political issues dividing our nation...it's that Satan has managed to divide God's kids.

Pray for brotherhood, oneness, fellowship, unity.