"En la Causa Celestial"

This morning, I had the great privilege of singing the first verse of the hymn "Called to Serve" in Spanish. I cannot read or speak much Spanish, but I know it well enough to know that there are some differences in meaning between the English and Spanish versions of the hymn. Eager to find out what the differences were (and blog about them), I asked Google Translate to tell me what the words of the Spanish version mean in English.

Of course, Google Translate disappointed me. Anyone who has heard the name Malinda Kathleen Reese, or seen my blog post Mistranslations and Misinterpretations, or has any experience with Google Translate at all, could probably tell you that Google Translate isn't always perfectly accurate. Case in point, it translated "Todos cantaremos nuestro alegre son triunfal" to "All are cheerful sing our triumphant." That might be close to what the phrase really means, but I get the feeling that it's not quite there. I'll have to do a more careful translation when I have time. When I do, I'll make sure to pay special attention to "prestos" and "listos," both of which Google Translate translated to "ready."

However, even with just a brief look at untrustworthy translations, I found a phrase who's translation which (whether it's correct or not) is rather inspiring and highlights a spiritual truth the likes of which I am especially fond. The last two lines of the Spanish version of the chorus, the last two lines you hear when anyone sings this song, are "Dios nos da poder; luchemos en la causa celestial," which, according to Google Translate, translates to "God gives us power; we fight in the heavenly cause."

We, especially the missionaries among us, do indeed "fight in the heavenly cause," and it is God who gives us the power to do so. The fighting is almost always figurative, but whether we're battling temptation or misinformation, it could certainly be said that we are at war. The good news is that we are on the right side of this war (I know no one ever thinks they're not, but still). We fight for the heavenly cause. This is God's fight as much as it is ours. And we are on God's side, which means that He is also on ours. This means that God is likely to (and does) grant us divine favor in these battles. Since we are helping to fight God's battles, God gives us the power we need to win.

This is an encouraging thought when we're faced with temptation, fierce opposition, and discouragement. Though it's hard to defeat such enemies, we know that we never have to face them alone. This is God's war too, and He wants us to win it, so He strengthens us and guides us so we can overcome our enemies and all the other challenges of life. We don't have to worry that we may fail because God is helping us. Because we are fighting in the heavenly cause, God will give us the power we need to win

PS. I'm going to Scout Camp this week, so you won't hear from me again until Saturday. See you then!