**SPOILER ALERT**
If you have not read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and do not know what happens and do not want to know what happens, do not read this blog.
If you have or don’t care (in which case, you’re wrong), please continue.
Ok, ok, I know that technically, it is J.K. Rowling who spoke this truth because she wrote the Harry Potter series and Dumbledore is just a character but just go with it.
Anyway, if you don’t know, I am mildly obsessed (I lied, there’s nothing mild about it) with Harry Potter. I am currently rereading the series and as I finished the fourth book a few days ago, I came across this quote where Dumbledore is addressing the school after Cedric Diggory was murdered by Voldemort (the evil dark wizard in the Harry Potter series). When I read this speech, I thought it was so perfect for the World Race and for living as Christian in general that I actually read it out loud to my team and now I am going to share with you. I replaced the words “Lord Voldemort,” with “the enemy.” Here are Dumbledore’s (ok fine, J.K. Rowling’s) words:
“…we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. The enemy’s gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust. Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open… Remember if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave…”
A huge part of the World Race is living in community with a team and my team can only be “as strong as we are united.” Through all of the trials and stresses of this journey, we must stay united with our focus remaining on the Lord. Satan has been beaten by God but that doesn’t mean he stays quiet. He tries to get to us when are at our weakest points. He tries to force us apart, to spread “discord and enmity” but we can’t let him! When we are tired or frustrated, we can snap at out teammates or take their feedback as a personal attack but this is not the truth. This is Satan, the enemy, and we must recognize his attempts to drive us apart ad stay united in Christ.
Even beyond the World Race, this is how Christian community should operate everywhere. We cannot believe the lies of the enemy. We must rely on the “strong bond of friendship and trust” we have with Christ but also with each other. Trust can be really difficult but the only way to grow in community with others is to be vulnerable and to trust them. Don’t get me wrong- this is tough but we have to let each other in and press into what may be uncomfortable to grow together.
My favorite part of the above quote, especially for the World Race, is the part about how our differences matter not when we are united with a common goal. That goal for me, my team, my entire squad, and each of the ministries we will partner with on this journey is to spread the love of Jesus. It doesn’t matter if we speak English and many of the people we work with in South America only speak Spanish because “[d]ifferences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.” During our time in Colombia at Ciudad Refugio, most of the people we worked with on a daily basis only spoke Spanish but it didn’t matter because we were all working to spread the gospel. On this trip, most of the people we will meet come from completely different cultures but that doesn’t matter. If we all focus our hearts on Jesus and are open to one another, we can overcome even the strongest of cultural barriers. This is such a comfort as I think about moving into Asian countries where I will have zero local language abilities and know virtually nothing about the cultures we are entering. The love of Christ can conquer even the most extreme cultural differences.
The final part of the quote is a call to action that Dumbledore delivers to the Hogwarts students and one that I like to think J.K. Rowling is delivering to all of us. Now, in Harry Potter, the boy being referred to is Cedric Diggory but in our lives, that boy is (did you guess it?), Jesus. He was good, kind, brave, and best of all, He died on the cross for our sins. Following Jesus is not easy by any means and often times we find ourselves having to do things that we know are against popular opinion or that may bring ridicule from others. These sacrifices however, are nothing compared to the pain and suffering of Jesus on the cross. Whenever we are tempted to give in to the ways of the world, we simply must remember what Jesus endured on that cross for us. God sacrificed His only son for me in all my brokenness and imperfection. I deserve the death that Jesus died but instead, I have life. A life that is dedicated to Christ and a life in which I will strive to always choose what is right rather than what is easy and even though I will fail, He loves me anyway.
