Verse of the Day - 1 Peter 3:8

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. ~ 1 Peter 3:8 (NIV)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I grew up in a musical family. My grandma was the church pianist for 35 years; my mom sang in the church choir; my dad and my brother sang and played a variety of stringed instruments (guitar, banjo, etc.); we had a piano at home that my sisters had played, and for which I was plunked down (no pun intended) at the age of seven. There was no getting out of music in my house! And my dad taught me how to sing harmony very early on, too -- I'll never forget, at about age 5, sticking my fingers in my ears to focus on the alto part of "Jesus Loves Me" while dad sang the melody!

Great harmonies in music add a dimension to the melody that can bring tears to our eyes -- but bad harmonies can bring tears of another sort, right? American Idol judge, Randy Jackson, is famous for using the word, "pitchy," when it comes to singing off-tone, and if harmonies are off, it can simply ruin a song. Or if the harmonies aren't blended well, parts stick out and cause a bad mix -- the melody is lost, because there's too much alto, or tenor, or whatever. Tuning and mixing are so important in making a beautiful sound.

So, when we're called by God to live in harmony with each other, we are called to be on pitch and blend. Not everyone is the same; hence, we don't all "sing melody". Our diversity in the family of God is a beautiful thing -- we don't have to live up to what others do for God, because we are unique and have our own blend and flavor of worship and service for Him. But we should be on pitch with God's Spirit for however we serve Him in the body of Christ; don't go "flat" or "sharp" by doing something you're not called to do. And trying to stand out, just to be noticed, will only cause the overall sound of the song of the body of Christ to be out of whack -- we need humility to blend with the other members of Christ's body, so that we offer up to God a sound that fits together in love.

Whether you're musically inclined or not, this is how we make beautiful music to God together with our very lives...

...be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.

Love,
Joelene