Solidarity

By Sarah Medhat

I had never really stopped to think about the meaning of the word Solidarity before. 

In March I went to Stockholm for a training connected to the European Solidarity Corps. During the program, the twelve of us volunteers were asked to go out into the school’s backyard and choose something that, in our own eyes, represented solidarity. Then, one by one, we were invited to place what we had chosen at the moment we felt was right.

Each person chose something different. Some picked twelve leaves, others picked twelve small stones, someone brought a plant pot, and someone else chose a tree branch and a rope. Everyone expressed the idea in their own way.

As for me, I chose a large, strong tree trunk. At that moment, I found myself asking: "What makes something like solidarity possible in the first place?" And the answer that came to my heart was this: "Solidarity needs a strong foundation." That foundation can only be love and acceptance.

When Jesus came to earth as a human being, He did not come with money, gifts, houses, or anything material to offer. But He came with something far greater: true love and real acceptance. He welcomed people without exception — tax collectors, prostitutes, sinners, and even those whom society had completely rejected. I believe that, as people created in the image of God, we have been given that same kind of love. As it says in Romans 5:5: “Because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

At EFS Church, we share a meal together every Tuesday. People come from different nationalities, different social backgrounds, and very different life situations, yet we all sit at the same table and eat together. One of the moments that taught me the most about solidarity happened during one of those gatherings. There was a girl who had been absent for a very long time, even though she had been one of the reasons this meeting existed in the first place. The moment Josh saw her, he welcomed her so warmly. He made sure she had everything she needed, introduced us to her, and then said, “This is my sister.” The way he said it was so genuine that I believed him immediately — even though they looked nothing alike. There was something so real in the love and acceptance behind his words that, in that moment, she truly felt like his sister. Immediately I remembered the verse: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

In 1 Peter 4:8, there is a very important invitation: “Above all, love each other deeply…”

The message of the Bible is always the same: love comes before everything else. 

Love your neighbor with all your heart. 

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Because love covers a multitude of sins.

Because love does not shame.

Because love does not seek its own way.

Because love does not assume the worst.

I believe that these are exactly the things we need if we want to live in true solidarity. Because perhaps solidarity does not begin with big words, systems, or slogans. Perhaps it begins much more simply than that. It begins with a heart that knows how to love, accept, and make room for others. And maybe that is how we become a truly connected community — one that helps, carries, and supports one another as if we really belong to each other.