“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” - John 17:21
Music is a precious gift from our Creator. Music tends to soothe us when we are troubled. It can comfort us when we are grieving. Music can motivate us when we get discouraged. Although I am not a good singer, I appreciate those who are gifted in this area.
I am a fan of Southern Gospel Music. I love to hear voices in harmony. I even like some classical music, especially when a string ensemble brings a song to life. I thoroughly enjoy hearing musical harmony.
Here's a mistake many make about musical harmony. While they understand the main tune, they think that the others simply sing the notes they want to and somehow it blends. That is not the case. Providing harmony in a song requires that you sing the exact notes that blend with other singers each step of the way.
When it comes to the church, believers should be serving together in harmony. Each person has a specific role, yet his work blends with the differing effort of others. Harmony does not exist in a congregation if everyone is doing what they want to do. Instead, we are called to do God's will. When we follow the notes the Great Conductor has penned for us, true harmony will exist among believers.
That is what Jesus prayed for in John 17. As He neared the end of His prayer, He spoke of us when He prayed, “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” Jesus wants His followers to be as one. Not one in unison, but one in harmony. There are times in choral music that the singers will sing in unison, but most of the time, they sing in harmony. Together as one unit, they sing different notes, but the resulting harmony provides one glorious sound.
That is the way Christians should be. Each believer serves uniquely based on gifts, talents and abilities, yet serving together as one army.
A family may consist of people with diverse personalities and abilities. Yet they come together as one, each providing for the family. One may cook, another may clean, a third may take out the trash, others may contribute financially. Yet they are one family, working together in harmony.
We are part of a spiritual family. Certainly we should work together in a church family, but overall, we are part of the family of God. We are one family, serving one God.
The problem we are facing is that the devil has believers feuding from within. Rather than concentrating on areas of agreement, we prefer to debate about our disagreements. Often our disagreements are in minor areas, but we tend to amplify them into major issues.
The devil enjoys seeing believers bicker about differences. He loves to incite people into jealousy or anger. He wants every church to split, every family to separate and every marriage to dissolve. You see, the devil fears a united army of saints, but he also knows that a divided army is a powerless foe.
Yes, we can have denominational beliefs, but our primary concentration should be on the message of the Gospel. The Gospel changes lives. The devil doesn't mind us talking about minor preferences, but he will fight against a group of believers who are armed with the Word and seek to penetrate their community with the Gospel.
Together we stand. Divided we fall. It is a simple as that. The American church is weak today because we refuse to work together to win souls. We should be pursuing the advancement of the Lord's kingdom rather than our own. Our goal should be total obedience to His will rather than accomplishing our selfish dreams and ambitions.
Jesus prayed for us to be as one. He prayed for us to live and work in harmony. Our harmony should be as unified and strong as the unity between Jesus and the Father. Jesus wants us to be one, “... as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.” As followers of Jesus, we should seek to live in harmony with each other, emulating the harmony of the Father and Son. Jesus prayed that this would be accomplished, “that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” In a world of turmoil, anger and resentment, Christian harmony exalts the Lord.
Yes, I love the sound of musical harmony. Yet the proper harmony of believers is something that is pleasing to the Lord. It only takes the sour notes of one person to ruin the harmonious sound of a quartet, choir or orchestra.
Don't be a sour-note Christian!
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