Fire in our hearts - The Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTSAWAKE O ZION!Living at the Farm had made an impact on Noel. He admiredthe reality of the relationships among the brothers and realisedhis own reserve. What did being ‘members one of another’(Rom 12:5, RSV) really mean? Were we of one heart?As Noel spoke on the ‘beauties of Zion’s maturities’, hebecame more pointed. The previous Ashburnham retreat hadbeen visionary, and now the truth had to be applied in everyarea. If we were to ‘love one another deeply, from the heart’(1 Pet 1:22), we had to lose our pretensions. We needed adeeper experience of the cross to produce a character thatwas not only strong and stable, but able also to flow in brotherhood.The theme song for Ashburnham ’76 was Pete’s: ‘Now weare the body of Christ... If one member suffers, all suffer together,if one member is honoured, all rejoice’ (from 1 Cor12:26). When the second week arrived, John ‘Gentle’ and Steve‘Faithful’ had to go back to the Farm, and as we gatheredround their minibus we sang this song. Many broke down intears.Amidst all our attempts to perfect one another, the themeof the one heart emerged as the Lord’s word to us. God gavetwo sisters some wisdom which was read out in the meetings.The first picture was of a maypole. The maypole wasthe Lord; the dancers members of his body. Each was joinedto him by a coloured thread which spoke of an individual walkwith God. The dance began and the threads were woven together.As hearts were entwined, all got closer to the Lord.The second picture was an aerial view of a transparent people.Their hearts were small and their eyes lifeless. But asthey worshipped they came alive, and upon their hearts ap-148