Perfect Harmony

   I've been a musician since I was a young boy. Due to my intense love of music, I suppose it makes perfect sense that I would become one.

   The emotional impact music has on all of us has always intrigued me. We've all found ourselves moved by music at various points in our lives. We can be anywhere when it happens. At work, in our car, walking through a park, or even in the middle of a conversation. It really doesn't matter what the circumstances are or what our surroundings may be. We hear the first few notes of a familiar song, and distant memories we haven't thought of in years come flooding back instantly. In fact, if we close our eyes and allow our thoughts to drift, we will sometimes feel as though we are re-living a distinct, meaningful moment from our past.

   Sometimes we'll hear a song for the very first time and we'll find ourselves being swept away with emotion. The type of emotions we feel can range from despair, to love, to joy, or even anger. The amazing part of this is we don't even have to hear any words within the song to feel these emotions. The music itself creates that within us.

   But how does this happen?

   When broken down to a scientific level, music is nothing more than vibrations within various frequencies that somehow combine in predetermined harmonies with each other. As these vibrations reach our ears, they immediately impact our emotions. How is that even possible? How can anyone possibly explain this in a meaningful way? We can't. We simply know it's true, and we accept it for what it is. We hear the various vibrations resonate in perfect harmony, and we react emotionally. We don't try to understand it. We simply enjoy it.

   But what happens when there is no harmony? What is our immediate response when a musician hits a bad note, or when a vocalist falls flat?.......We cringe. We lose interest in the music. We change the channel.

   Before any group of musicians plays a song, the instruments must be tuned. The strings on each instrument must be in tune with each other, and each instrument as a whole must also be in tune with all of the other instruments being played. If not, there's nothing but chaos, disharmony, and noise. If the instruments are not in tune with each other, it doesn't matter how skillfully the musicians play. The end result will be horribly distracting, and difficult for anyone to listen to. The laws of harmony, whether we understand them or not, always apply. They have always existed, and they always will.

   Within all of this, there are lessons we can take from music when looking at our faith, and how our faith may or may not impact the world around us. As is the case with music, there are specific laws that govern the amount of harmony we feel between ourselves and God. These laws also apply to the sense of harmony we may feel between each other.

   When I speak of these laws, I'm not talking about some long list of rules that need to be obeyed. I'm not speaking of a bunch of legalistic requirements or regulations. I'm not speaking of some 12-step program that will ensure our success. I'm speaking about harmony.

   Just as every instrument needs to be in tune in order for a song to be as beautiful as it was originally intended, our hearts and minds need to be "in tune" with God for our lives to create a song as beautiful as God intended our particular "song of life" to be. The more "in tune" we are with God, the more deeply others will be moved by what they see in us, what they hear from us, etc..

   So how do we do this? How do we "tune up?" That's the easy part. We take time to pray, to read scripture, and to ask God to speak to our hearts, aligning our hearts and minds with Him in perfect harmony. If we ask this of Him, and seek this alignment in faith, He will respond. And if we can just stay there.......silently........allowing Him to tune us........just as it happens to us with music, the harmonies we hear deep within us during that time can move us so very deeply it's as if our very souls are singing out............without even one word being spoken.

   Is this a one-time deal? Can we do it once, then walk away expecting to be "in tune" for life? Of course not. Just as musicians need to tune up repeatedly and continually, we need to do the same. Will we find ourselves hitting bad notes at times? Absolutely. But just as is true when playing with other musicians - it's not whether you'll hit an occasional bad note that matters - it's how you recover when you do.