Why Submit?

We waited with anticipation for the music to begin. Finally, the moment came and with the downbeat, the hall was filled with sound, the beautiful coming together of all the instruments. The sheer beauty of it was so overwhelming, I felt myself actually becoming emotional and tearing up. I later asked the kids, then teenagers, if they had felt something similar. They both said they had, so I knew I was not alone in the way I had perceived the impact of that moment. The players each had their score and were doing their best to play what the composer had envisioned for their part, all together in harmony and precision. But what if one had gone off on his own and tried to "ad lib" or worse yet, played in a different key from all the others? The Composer knows what he has in mind when he writes a score. He takes care to write each part to "work" with all the other parts. The music is there, the instructions, so each one knows their part. One might deviate from the music on the printed page, but the end result will not be what the composer intended. If a musician goes off on his own melody, it takes away from the beauty of the whole. If he plays in a different key entirely, he disrupts and distracts from the unity of all the other players. If he tries to play another part from the one written for his instrument, that is also problematic, and not what the Composer intended. If he walks up and tries to bump the conductor off his spot to take his place, chaos will probably ensue. In the same way, our Creator has given instructions for our lives in Scripture. If we play the "music" He has given us, following his instructions, we can be a part of the beautiful whole, the Body of Christ. Our lives reflect His glory when we play the part He wrote for us. If we try to play our own melody, or someone else's part or role, we won't ever experience the beauty and joy He wants to give us. But with study, skill, and intention, we can learn to "play" with precision. I pray that as we journey through these pages together, you will come to hear the music, full and sweet, knowing that you are playing your part, just as The Composer intended.