“Blest be the tie that binds Our hearts in Christian love, The fellowship of kindred minds Is like to that above.”

How often have you uttered those words in song?

Most of you know it is our tradition at the conclusion of the Lord’s Supper to form a circle, clasp hands and sing the first stanza of this hymn as our benediction. Just as the Communion Service is a symbolic remembrance of our Lord’s suffering and death on our behalf, so this hymn is a reminder of the bond of love we have with one another in Christ. John Fawcett, the author of the lyrics, calls this bond “the fellowship of kindred minds.”

But the richness of the hymn is understood when we answer the question, “what is the tie that binds?” John Fawcett skillfully declines to state the obvious, and assumes we know. It is possible he hinted at the tie that binds in one of the other five stanzas. Could that tie be our prayers? Our burden bearing? Our hope? Our unity? Maybe.

Maybe not.

As a family in Christ, mutual support and the direction we aim to go is important. That camaraderie can create a unified purpose. But it is not everything. Fawcett states that the fellowship of kindred minds is “like to that above.” I’ll be the first to admit I have no personal knowledge of what fellowship is like in heaven. I can only imagine, based on what little the Scriptures tell and imply. Without first hand experience, guesses are my best and only reasonable choice.

Does the obscure become obvious if the question is asked with “who” instead of “what”? Who is the tie that binds? Fawcett is a clever pastor, indeed. It is not our companionship that binds us together. It is our union with Jesus Christ that “ties” (communion is com- “with, together” + unus “oneness, union”). He himself is the Tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.

United to Him, our burdens, our aims, our toils, our hopes, our sorrows, our comforts, our pain, our joys and our fears are wrapped together with the light of His glorious presence among us.

While the fellowship circle at the end of the Lord’s Supper in the English speaking family is smaller in body today, in spirit that fellowship of kindred minds includes you, who don’t live quite as far away as “those above.” That fellowship of kindred spirit is as large as ever, orbiting the globe, and reaching as far as heaven is near. Not because of us, but because of The Tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.

“Blest be The Tie that binds….”

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