In 1987, songwriters Bruce Woodley of The Seekers, and Dobe Newton from The Bushwhackers, collaborated to write one of Australia’s most patriotic songs.
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The lyrics of the chorus are;
‘‘We are one, but we are many.
And from all the lands on earth we come
We'll share a dream and sing with one voice
"I am, you are, we are Australian."
It gives us an idealised picture of our nation, celebrating our cultural differences and common Australian identity. For me, that is also a picture of the ‘ideal’ Christian Church in action.
Through God’s gift of baptism, far more than just the population of Australia are ‘made one’.
Christian teaching is that through baptism God calls us His children – His chosen ones. We Christians, no matter where we are, or which country we come from, are ALL family – we are one.
Statistics from 2015 reveal that there are around 2.3 billion Christians worldwide – almost 32 per cent of the world population – that’s a lot of brothers and sisters isn’t it?
Baptised Christians are, by divine association also siblings of Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ baptism was such a significant event that all four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John recorded it in varying ways. While the detail and wording vary, two very notable incidents are faithfully highlighted in all four Gospels.
First was the appearance of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove just after Jesus emerged from the river.
The second incident resonates with baptised Christians all these centuries later. The heavens opened up and the commanding voice of God boomed out; “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
When we are baptised and made God’s own children, He says the same thing to us; “You are my son or daughter, my beloved, with you I am well pleased!”
Who could possibly ask for a better life-long promise than that?