Hillsong UNITED Reflection

I just got back from a short but sweet two-day trip to Manhattan, New York, where I was given the opportunity to watch Hillsong UNITED worship the Saviour. As I have kind of unfolded my thoughts on my time there, I started to write. Here are some of He things that were going on in my mind...

*you are now entering the mind of Jak Hilsher on July 2nd (and 3rd) of 2019*

Last night, I had the opportunity to go to a Hillsong UNITED concert with my brother, Caleb, and my friend, Matt. This night was...powerful. There’s not much I can do to explain it except for the fact that it had a ‘heaven vibe’ to it. I’ll tell you this; if Heaven is anything like last night, then I am ready to be there now. There were over 20,000 people packed in the sold out Madison Square Garden who all paid money, spent time, and poured their hearts out to the King, through singing, shouting, and dancing. As crazy and wild as it was, it gets so much better. Imagine doing the same thing, but with millions and millions of people, in the presence of the King, Himself, for all of eternity. Sound cool? No. It’s sounds more than cool. It is impossible to overestimate God. He will always surpass the expectations and the descriptions we put on His name. How great is that?

Something else that stuck on my mind last night: in between songs, songwriter Joel Houston (My idol. Yes, I’m naming my son after him.) was talking about the vast diversity there is in New York City, but more specifically, Madison Square Garden. He reminded us about the fact that Jesus loves everyone. The sinner, the saved, the American, the Korean, and so on, He knows our hearts and knows where we stand. It kind of stuck out to me in that it stayed on my mind the next day. Fast forward to the next day, as we were touring the city, and I really started to notice the individuals surrounding me. Those who were well put together, those who were homeless, those who were old, and those who were young. It was just a very surreal moment to realize that these people each have a story. They all have been, and still are loved by a Saviour (“Yo Jak, you just spelled Savior wrong”, says you, the American reader. “No, I just think it is cool to spell it that way, especially since I just got back from worshiping with a bunch of Aussies”, Jak said). My point is this; if we are striving to reflect the life of Jesus Christ, then should we not love those around us, even if, in our opinion, they don’t have an important story? Yes! Not only because we are told to, but because we should have the kind of relationship with God, where whatever breaks His heart, would also break ours.

-Jak Hilsher