MAKING MUSIC

On a lovely summer evening, a big crowd gathered in a beautiful outdoor venue for a concert by one of my university friends. It happened to be his birthday, so the host hinted that we might want to sing “Happy Birthday” to him. One by one, people started singing, each in a different key, each at a different tempo. As the jumble of notes and words joined together, the result was, well, less than harmonic. It wasn’t even tuneful. It was in fact downright awful. When my friend took the stage, he gave us another chance. He didn’t give us the pitch, but he did give us a lead in, so at least we were singing together. By the end of the song most people were somewhat close to the right notes!

The noise that was supposed to be a song reminded me of a problem in a first century church. They couldn’t agree on their leader. Some followed Paul; others Apollos (1 CORINTHIANS 3:4). The result was arguments and messy relationships (V.3). Instead of music, they were making noise. When people don’t agree on a leader, they all ‘sing’ (I’m speaking metaphorically here) at the pace and pitch most comfortable for them.

To make great ‘music’ that will show others how good it is to belong to God, all Christians must follow the same leader, and that leader must be Jesus.

To pray about . . .

Father, give us wisdom. We know it’s good to follow the example of our godly leaders, but help us not to think so highly of them that we worship them instead of You. Amen.

KEEPING IN TUNE WITH JESUS KEEPS HARMONY
IN THE CHURCH.

YouTh Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries